HILDREN 


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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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Presented    byI~^.^'(2ySVC^.€^.r^V~~Y^6^^■Vo 


X^ 


Paris,  William  Wallace,  184 

-1925. 
The  children  of  light 


vt  '•''>  »  Art  •  ■,   ''  >.  * 


THE    CHILDREN    OF   LIGHT. 


THE    FLETCHER    PRIZE. 


The  Will  of  the  late  Hon.  Richard  Fletcher,  LL.D.,  of  Boston, 
by  which  Dartmouth  College  is  made  his  residuary  legatee,  provides 
for  a  Special  Fund  to  be  under  the  care  of  the  Trustees  of  the  said 
College,  from  the  avails  of  which  they  are  to  offer  biennially  a  prize 
of  Five  Hundred  Dollars  for  the  best  Essay  on  the  subject  indi- 
cated in  the  following  extract  from  the  Will :  — 

"In  view  of  the  numerous  and  powerful  influences  constantly 
active  in  drawing  professed  Christians  into  fatal  conformity  with  the 
world,  both  in  spirit  and  practice  ;  in  view  also  of  the  lamentable  and 
amazing  fact,  that  Christianity  exerts  so  little  practical  influence, 
even  in  countries  nominally  Christian,  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  some 
good  might  be  done  by  making  permanent  provision  for  obtaining 
and  publishing,  once  in  two  years,  a  Prize  Essay,  setting  forth  truths 
and  reasoning  calculated  to  counteract  such  worldly  influences,  and 
impressing  on  the  minds  of  all  Christians  a  solemn  sense  of  their  duty 
to  exhibit,  in  their  godly  lives  and  conversation,  the  beneficent  effects 
of  the  religion  they  profess,  and  thus  increase  the  efiiciency  of  Chris- 
tianity in  Christian  countries,  and  recommend  its  acceptance  to  the 
heathen  nations  of  the  world." 

The  Trustees,  in  accordance  with  the  said  Will,  offered  the  above- 
named  Prize  the  Second  time,  extensively  advertising  the  same  in 
the  public  papers. 

The  Committee  of  Award  were  appointed  as  follows :  Rev.  Edwin 
F.  Hatfield,  D.D.,  Stated  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Rev.  Harvey  D.  Ganse,  Pastor  of  the  Madison 
Avenue  Reformed  Church,  and  Rev.  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  Jun.,  D.D., 
Rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  all  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  Before  the  award  was  rendered.  Dr.  Ganse  was  called  to  the 
Pastorate  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

The  Prize  was  awarded  to  the  Essay  in  this  volume. 


ASA  D.  SMITH,  President. 


Dartmouth  College,  Hanover,  N.H. 
Feb.  1,  1877. 


1877. 


THE 

Children  of  Light. 


BY 

REV.   WM.   W.   FARIS. 


y 


*'Ye  are  all  the  Children  of  Light."  —  i  Thess.  v.  5. 
"Walk  as  Children  of  Light."  —  Eph.  v.  8. 


BOSTON: 
ROBERTS      BROTHERS. 

1877. 


Copyright,  1877, 
By  WiLiyiAM  W.  Faris. 


Cambridge : 
Press  of  John  Wilson  dr»  Son. 


TO 

MY    FATHER, 

WHO    ENCOURAGED    ME   TO    ITS   PREPARATION,    AND 

WHOSE  MAXIMS  AND  HABITS  SUGOESTED  MANY  OF   ITS   TEACHINGS, 

THIS  BOOK   IS   AFFECTIONATELY   INSCRIBED. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Lights  and  Shadows  :   A  Survey 1 


Part  JFirst. 

COMING  TO   THE  LIGHT.     (Christian  Beginnings.) 

I.     Starting  Out 27 

n.    Locating  the  Light 50 

Part  ^ccatttJ. 

MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.   (Worldliness.) 

I.  Stumbling 75 

XL  Falling 85 

III.  Maimed 97 

jy.  Keproved  and  recalled 108 

Part  m^ixti. 

STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.     (Christian  Knowledge.) 

I.  Learning  to  see ".     ...  119 

II.  The  Fellowship  of  Light 124 

III.  The  Secret  of  Light 151 

IV.  The  Laws  of  Light 172 


Vlll  CONTENTS, 

Part  jFourtft. 

WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.     (Christian  Conduct.) 

PAGE 

I.     What  ?  and  Why  ? 215 

XL     In  the  Home 223 

III.  In  the  Church 233 

rv.    Among  Men 249 

Part  jFlftJ. 

WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.     (Christian  Labor.) 

I.  Responsibility 271 

II.  Hindrances 280 

in.  Motives 293 

IV.  What  to  do 304 


CTfjis  tfjcn  is  tf)e  fHcssage 

WHICH   WE   HAVE   HEAKD   OF   HIM,    AND   DECLARE   UNTO   YOU, 
THAT 

GOD    IS    LIGHT, 

AND   IN   HI3I   IS   NO   DARKNESS  AT  ALL. 

IF   WE    SAY   THAT   WE    HAVE    FELLOWSHIP  WITH   HIM,    AND   WALK 
IN  DARKNESS,    WE   LIE,   AND   DO  NOT  THE   TRUTH: 

BUT   IF   WE   WALK    IN    THE    LIGHT,    AS    HE    IS    IN    THE    LIGHT,     WE 

HAVE   FELLOWSHIT   ONE   WITH  ANOTHER, 

AND 

THE  BLOOD    OF  JESUS   CHRIST  HIS  SON   CLEAN SETH 
US  FROM  ALL   SIN. 

1  John  i.  5-7. 


THE   CHILDREN   OF   LIGHT. 


LIGHTS  AND   SHADOWS: 

A  SURVEY. 

*'  The  morning  cometh ;  and  also  the  night."  —  Isa.  xxi.  12. 

'THHEIIE  are  some  ten  millions  of  communi- 
cants in  the  Christian  churches  of  the 
United  States.  That  is  to  say:  there  is  this 
vast  multitude  of  people  among  us  who  profess 
to  have  received  an  invaluable  gift  from  Jesus 
Christ,  and  who  have  sworn  to  serve  Him  as 
their  King. 

Here  is  a  host  of  men  and  women  who  daily- 
take  their  dearest  joys  direct  from  the  King's 
hand  ;  whose  exemption  from  the  bitter  fruits  of 
their  own  misdeeds  is  due  alone  to  His  match- 
less grace ;  and  who  fully  and  fondly  expect 
from  Him  eternal  bliss,  upon  warrant  of  the 
covenant  which  He  has  executed,  sealed,  and 
delivered  to  their  keeping :  — 


Z  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"If  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  shalt  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath 
raised  Him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved." 

"  Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
shall  be  saved." 

All  these,  therefore,  are  attached  to  their  King 
by  ties  of  love,  and  devoted  to  His  interests 
from  motives  of  gratitude.  As,  in  an  earlier 
day,  one  like  them  said :  — 

"  For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us  ;  because 
we  thus  judge,  that  if  One  died  for  all,  then  were  all 
dead ;  and  that  He  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live 
should  not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but  unto 
Him  which  died  for  them,  and  rose  again." 

One  would  suppose,  then,  that  this  King, 
Jesus,  could  nowhere  now  lack  partisans  to 
defend  His  honor,  or  adherents  to  push  His 
claims.  One  would  imagine  that  to  decry  this 
King,  or  to  oppose  His  cause,  must  be  an  under- 
taking attended  with  some  instant  hazard.  And 
one  would  expect  that,  as  vapor  rises  from  the 
sea,  so  spontaneously  and  unceasingly  there 
should  arise  from  the  gladdened  hearts  of  all 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS.  6 

these  millions,  over  the  whole  land,  a  huge 
cloud  of  earnest  and  eloquent  testimony  to  His 
merits  and  His  gifts  ;  and  that,  like  some  pent- 
up  torrent,  it  would  burst  out  upon  the  nations 
in  an  overwhelming  flood ;  a  testimony  so  joy- 
ous and  eager,  so  outspoken  and  aggressive,  so 
vigorous  and  so  vast,  that,  like  a  marvel  or  a 
miracle,  it  must  compel  the  attention  of  man- 
kind! 

Napoleon  Bonaparte  is  long  since  dead,  and 
his  best  gifts  to  men  are  now  but  brilliant 
dreams  and  urns  of  ashes ;  yet  there  are  still 
many  who  will  avenge  an  insult  to  his  memory 
upon  the  spot.  "Washington  is  dead ;  yet  there 
are  thousands  now  wlio  are  both  keenly  sensi- 
tive to  any  dishonoring  mention  of  him,  and 
active  in  defending  and  developing  the  heritage 
which  he  bequeathed  us.  Christ  still  lives. 
His  legacy  is  beyond  all  price  and  secure  from 
all  decay.  The  success  of  His  work,  unlike 
that  of  Washington,  is  inwoven  with  the  honor 
of  His  name.  His  warfare  presses  and  calls  for 
reinforcements.     His  harvest  fields  are  ripening 


4  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

to  decay,  whereat  hearts  ache  and  join  the  cry, 
till  it  echoes  and  re-echoes  everywhere,  "  Send 
forth  more  laborers  into  the  harvest ;  "  while 
His  redeemed  stand  near,  numerous  and  able, 
catching  from  the  Master's  lips  the  words,  ''  Go 
work." 

With  what  vigor,  then,  should  we  suppose 
His  warfare  would  be  pressed,  His  harvest  gath- 
ered !  With  what  rapidity  should  we  expect  to 
see  His  gifts  of  healing  scattered  and  accepted ! 
With  what  promptness  should  we  expect  to  find 
reproach  or  calumny  against  the  name  of  Jesus 
caught  up  and  hurled  back  upon  the  defamer, 
and  opposition  to  His  kindly  work  conquered 
and  consigned  to  ignominy  !  With  what  quench- 
less ardor  should  we  expect  to  see  the  standard 
of  the  cross  borne  forward,  and  hear  its  virtues 
heralded  in  the  ears  of  men  who  are  dying 
for  want  of  the  saving  word  and  the  healing 
vision !  And  especially,  at  the  very  outset 
indeed,  we  should  certainly  expect  to  find  all 
these  Christians,  with  a  rigid  and  loving  fidelity, 
cherishing  the  spirit  and  following  the  example 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS.  O 

of  their  Master  in  discarding  and  abhorring 
sin  of  every  sort,  and  in  maintaining  purity  of 
heart  and  life  ;  in  order  that,  at  the  very  least,  no 
act  or  indulgence  of  theirs  might  mar  their  own 
joy,  subject  the  King's  name  to  contumely,  and 
retard  His  redeeming  work. 

Such  are  the  pleasing  expectations  which  it 
would  seem  but  just  to  indulge.  What  are  the 
facts? 

An  impartial  survey  discloses  almost  nothing 
of  the  kind,  except  in  certain  quarters  and 
within  narrowly  restricted  limits.  The  words 
of  the  evangel  still  hold  good :  — 

"The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  laborers 
are  few ! " 

"  The  children  of  this  world  are,  in  their  generation, 
wiser  than  the  children  of  light." 

The  kingdom  of  light  receives  less  vigorous 
and  less  faithful  service  than  the  kingdom  of 
darkness. 

There  is,  indeed,  much  unction  among  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel.  But  the  world,  which 
needs  to  be  impressed,  imputes  this  zeal  to  the 


6  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

spirit  of  the  minister's  profession  rather  than  to 
the  emotion  of  his  heart ;  nor  is  it  possible,  by 
any  analysis,  to  determine  the  full  extent  to 
which  this  human  factor  enters.  Moreover, 
some  ministers  are  given  to  avarice,  ambition, 
indolence.  And,  after  giving  due  credit  for  the 
large  and  undoubted  self-sacrifice  which  remains, 
it  must  still  be  said  that  the  clergy  are  an  offi- 
cial class  supported  in  and  for  their  work ;  and 
that  they  are  but  the  very  few  "  among  the 
thousands  of  Judah." 

It  is  true  also  that  there  is  an  occasional  and 
sporadic  lay  activity.  One  by  one,  at  intervals 
of  generations  and  at  distances  of  hundreds  of 
miles,  there  arise  a  few  devoted  men  whose 
infectious  spirit  is  caught,  and  for  a  time  is 
ke^^t,  by  scores  or  hundreds  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  each.  And  in  almost  every  com- 
munity there  may  be  found  at  least  one  or  two 
persons,  often  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life, 
whose  activity  is  similar  in  its  quality  and  its 
results  to  that  of  these  more  influential  laborers  ; 
while   it  not  unfrequently  occurs   that,  under 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS.  7 

God,  a  whole  church  is  indebted  to  this  one  or 
two  for  the  greater  part  of  its  zeal  and  its  suc- 
cess. 

At  rare  times,  also,  one  may  come  upon  the 
path  of  a  faithful  and  effective  toiler  for  the 
Master,  who  has  the  happy  knack  of  working 
unseen  of  men.  Usually,  perhaps,  it  is  a  woman. 
One  seldom  meets  her.  The  world  hears  little 
of  her.  But  there  are  those  among  the  poor, 
the  sick,  the  troubled,  who  know  her  cheering 
voice,  and  who  learn  to  listen  for  her  almost 
stealthy  footstep.  She  is  often  able  also  to 
inspire,  to  direct,  and  even  to  organize  the 
efforts  of  the  less  thoughtful  and  earnest,  with- 
out permitting  herself  to  be  in  any  way  thrust 
into  public  notice.  Such  persons  command  at 
once  our  admiration  and  our  esteem ;  and  all 
the  more  because  of  their  rarity. 

It  is  freely  granted  that  much  activity  may 
be  found  in  still  other  and  diverse  quarters.  In 
the  aggregate,  its  display  is  perhaps  as  large  as 
all  that  has  been  named.  But  scrutiny  detects 
an  unconscious  deception  here.     This  work  is 


8  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

usually  of  an  intermittent  and  a  very  ordinary 
sort.  Tlie  most  of  it  is  either  the  dead  fruit  ot 
habit,  or  a  mere  series  of  convulsive  efforts  pro- 
duced by  a  succession  of  urgent  appeals  and 
cutting  rebukes.  Such  service  has  small  claim 
to  honorable  recognition. 

Worthy  of  a  better  mention  is  the  silent  influ- 
ence of  a  respectable  minority  of  the  Christian 
host,  mostly  wives  and  mothers,  whose  speech 
is  in  whispers  to  God  in  the  closet  and  in  jDatient 
counsel  to  their  young.  The  Christian  spirit 
proves  pervasive  in  the  homes  of  these  women ; 
it  exhales  a  fragrance  which  fills  the  place,  and 
it  rests  like  a  benediction  on  the  heads  of  all 
who  enter  there.  With  them  we  may  associate 
some  men,  quiet  persons,  often  poor  in  this 
world's  goods ;  humble  mechanics,  unlettered 
or  diffident  farmers,  moderately  successful  trades- 
men, professional  men  of  a  retiring  disposition. 
Their  influence  is  felt,  but  also  it  is  restricted. 
There  is  a  degree  of  unvoiced  devotion  displayed 
in  their  lives ;  but  their  name  is  not  legion,  their 
work  is  not  spirited,  and  their  achievements  are 
not  great. 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS.  9 

Remark  may  also  be  made  upon  the  preva- 
lence of  that  phase  of  Christian  conduct  which 
exhibits  regard  for  the  common  decencies  of  life, 
for  the  rights  of  otliers,  and  for  the  claims  of 
the  needy.  This,  however,  is  but  the  remote 
result  of  centuries  of  Christian  teaching  and 
endeavor :  it  is  chiefly  the  product  of  other  ages 
than  our  own.  The  habit  is  almost  universal  in 
Christendom.  It  marks  the  present  terminus  of 
the  pathway  of  liglit  through  the  ages,  whose 
departure  was  from  Mount  Calvar}-,  or,  more 
remptely,  from  the  altar  at  the  gate  of  Eden.  It 
is  scarcel}^  to  be  credited  either  to  the  devoutness 
or  to  the  exertions  of  the  present  generation  of 
Christians,  but  the  rather  to  its  acquiescence 
and  acceptance.  As  a  rule  the  Christians  of 
to-day,  and  many  of  the  world  with  them,  only 
fall  in  with  the  tide  of  civilization  which  has 
been  rolled  upward  and  is  now  borne  on  by  other 
hands  than  theirs.  For,  let  it  be  remembered, 
that  which  is  here  claimed  and  which  is  indeed 
a  pleasing  fruit  of  our  religion,  is  simply  the 
habit  of  Christian  decencv,  not  the  vioorous 
1* 


10  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

virtue  of  the  Christian  life.  The  eminent  god- 
liness of  demeanor  which  the  times  demand  and 
which  compels  the  respect  of  men  as  the  unques- 
tionable product  of  Grace,  is  not  so  common. 

Even  this  outward  decency  is  often  wanting. 
The  sensitive  ear  of  the  lover  of  God's  house  is 
pained  by  the  frequent  report  of  some  petty 
misdemeanor,  or  some  grave  crime,  committed 
by  a  professed  follower  of  Jesus ;  so  that  fresh 
stains  are  fixed  upon  the  Christian  name  by 
those  who  wear  it. 

It  is  thus  that  the  pleasing  anticipations  with 
which  we  set  out  upon  our  survey  are  doomed 
to  disappointment.  The  rigid  fidelity  and  the 
rapt  devotion  which  we  expect,  are  found  "  only 
in  certain  quarters  and  within  narrowly  re- 
stricted limits."  Beyond  what  has  been  men- 
tioned there  is  —  nothing;  nothing  to  compel 
the  attention  of  the  unobservant  to  the  fact  that 
Jesus  liveB ;  nothing  adequate  to  overcome  the 
inertia  of  human  lethargy  and  human  scepticism 
concerning  the  great  needs  and  truths  of  life ; 
nothing  to  give  to  the  careless  and  the  vicious 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS.  11 

such  constant  and  vivid  warning  of  their  ruin  as 
should  force  them  to  pause  and  think. 

It  is  not  intended  to  deny  that  the  aggregate 
result  of  Christian  work  is  large.  Many  blessed 
and  glorious  ends  are  achieved :  their  number 
cannot  be  reckoned,  and  their  value  is  beyond 
estimation.  The  support  of  the  American  Bible 
Society  and  its  countless  auxiliaries,  of  the 
various  Tract  and  Missionary  Associations,  and 
of  hundreds  of  diverse  schemes  and  agencies  of 
Christian  education  and  Christian  charity ;  and 
the  maintenance  and  care,  together  with  their 
Sabbath  schools,  of  more  than  fifty  thousand 
Christian  churches,  —  attended  by  a  growth 
more  rapid  in  the  aggregate  than  that  of  our 
population  ;  wherein  are  involved  a  total  annual 
outlay  of  millions  of  dollars  and  the  steady  toil 
of  hosts  of  workers :  these  things  exhibit  the 
marvellous  power  of  Grace  as  it  operates  tlirough 
such  frail  and  unreliable  materials  as  are  seen, 
to  a  great  extent,  to  compose  the  church  of 
Christ ;  and  they  exhibit  also  the  wisdom  of 
Providence^  which  gathers  to  such  useful  ends 


12  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

SO  many  rills  of  influence  flowing  from  many- 
sources  and  springing  from  various  motives. 
Praise  is  due  to  God  in  that  He  is  able  and*  is 
pleased  to  accomplish  so  much  through  lives  so 
frail,  hands  so  weak,  and  will  so  feeble  as  hu- 
manity ordinarily  offers  in  His  service. 

So  much  of  the  outlay  named  is  from  motives 
of  display,  so  much  of  it  is  drawn  from  unwilling 
hands,  and  so  much  is  unmade  wliich  might 
justly  have  been  looked  for;  so  much  of  the 
work  performed  was  organized  in  former  times 
and  is  now  carried  on,  under  God,  largely  by  its 
own  momentum,  while  so  much  more  is  wanting 
which  might  easily  be  supplied ;  that,  except  as 
to  the  classes  to  whom  allusion  has  been  made, 
the  measure  of  recognition  due  to  man's  fidelity, 
vigilance  and  zeal,  is  scant  indeed!  Much  is 
accomplished  and  a  gigantic  work  is  carried  for- 
ward measurably  well,  only  because  God  is  able 
to  work  effectively  through  even  a  sluggish 
current  of  Christian  life.  It  remains  that  the 
human  elements  of  the  forces  of  righteousness 
might  offer  Him  an  agency  for  the  accomplish- 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS,  13 

ment  of  immensely  more,  by  unanimously  laying 
a  resolute  will,  a  glowing  heart,  and  a  willing 
hand  on  the  Redeemer's  altar. 

We  looked  to  see  a  marvel  of  devotion.  We 
find  it  wanting  ;  and  we  find  instead  —  a  mira- 
cle of  divine  management.  The  multitude  of 
the  redeemed  are  found  to  be  characterized 
rather  by  indifference  and  inconsistency,  than 
by  the  purity  of  life  and  the  vigilance  and  vigor 
of  service  which  were  to  be  anticipated.  And 
especially  does  it  appear  that  the  alert  and  par- 
tisan aggression  in  Jesus'  name  which  a  lethargic 
world  requires,  is  wofully  restricted. 

Were  it  not  so,  hosts  of  prevailing  ills  would 
have  hidden  their  heads  ere  this.  What  cannot 
ten  millions  of  people  accomplish !  In  a  total 
population  of  but  forty  millions,  ten  millions  of 
intelligent  adults  —  united,  resolute  and  eager 
in  this  personal  partisanship,  aided  by  the  sym- 
pathies of  many  whom  certain  lines  exclude 
from  their  company,  permitted  in  every  emer- 
gency to  employ  the  power  of  the  Throne  which 
is  behind  all  thrones  and  the  Wisdom  which  is 


14  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

behind  all  thought  —  must  inevitably  infuse 
their  thought  into  public  opinion  and  civil  law 
so  far  that  manifest  injustice  or  fraud,  and  evi- 
dent dishonor,  insult  or  opposition  to  Jesus,  save 
among  the  openly  and  defiantly  vicious,  would 
become  impossible  because  so  exceedingly  un- 
popular. It  were  in  our  power,  without  in  the 
least  infringing  on  the  rights  of  others,  to  make 
profanity,  blasphemy,  fraud,  indecent  speech, 
and  even  irreverence  and  open  violation  of  the 
Sabbath,  so  damaging  to  those  known  to  be 
guilty  of  them,  that  these  crying  sins  would 
soon  cease  to  be  exhibited  in  open  day,  or  to  be 
screened  or  winked  at  by  law  or  custom.  Injus- 
tice, extortion,  oppression,  bribery,  would  sink 
from  sight.  Want  would  be  almost  unknown. 
And  Peace  would  rest  upon  the  nation. 

Our  entire  population  would  soon  be  divided 
into  two  ^distinct  and  opposing  classes  —  the 
friends  of  righteousness  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  recklessly  ungodly  and  the  vicious  on  the 
other.  Their  conflicts  at  the  polls,  in  the  court 
room  and  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  would  bo 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS.  15 

frequent  and  often  fierce,  with  one  unvarying 
result,  —  vice  would  be  put  in  stern  and  utter 
subjection  on  every  occasion. 

Further:  the  evangelistic  success  to  be 
achieved  by  the  prevalence  throughout  the 
Christian  host  of  such  a  character  and  habit,  is 
beyond  conception.  Every  infidel  who  screens 
himself  behind  the  shortcomings  of  Christians 
would  be  stripped  of  his  excuses  and  his  argu- 
ments at  once.  Hosts  of  the  indifferent  would 
be  daily  subjected  to  awakening  influences,  if 
only  from  example,  wliich  they  would  be  power- 
less to  resist, — albeit  they  might,  and  many 
doubtless  would,  make  final  and  deliberate 
choice  of  evil  in  the  full  light  of  truth.  In  fine, 
this  gospel  light  would  quickly  penetrate  to  the 
remotest  corner  of  the  land,  to  the  darkest  quar- 
ters of  our  cities,  to  the  hearts  of  all  the  preju- 
diced and  the  indifferent;  and  the  division  of 
men,  for  and  against  our  King,  would  be  pre- 
cipitated in  an  incredibly  brief  time.  Our 
evangelistic  work  would  be  completed,  so  far  as 
it  concerns  our  own  present  population ;  while 


16  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

the  labor  of  the  future  would  be  prepared  for, 
and  work  m  foreign  fields  would  be  pushed 
forward,  as  never  before. 

It  is  apparent,  then,  that  there  is  pressing 
need  of  two  distinct  yet  closely  related  fruits  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  :  — 

First:  There  is  required  the  general  preva- 
lence of  a  godly  atmosphere,  generated  by  the 
character  of  Christians,  and  by  the  god-likeness 
of  their  conduct  in  the  affairs  of  daily  life.  The 
"  light  of  men "  should  shine  among  men, 
through  them  who  receive  it,  and  who  are  there- 
fore divinely  termed  "lights  in  the  world," 
and  "children  of  light." 

Mere  Christian  decency  will  not  suffice.  It 
gives  no  adequate  illumination.  The  world  is 
so  far  able  to  match  us  in  this  accomplishment, 
that  our  display  of  it  yields  no  convincing  testi- 
mony to  the  power  of  our  risen  Lord  to  create 
men  anew  and  to  inspire  them  to  righteousness. 
What  they  see  they  ascribe  to  the  mere  teaching 
and  example  of  the  dead  Jesus,  and  these  they 
claim  to  be  the  heritage  of  the  world  at  large, 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS.  17 

not  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  particular.  There 
must  be  such  eminent  virtue  as  shall  pass  the 
power  of  Satan  to  produce,  or  of  men  to 
imitate. 

It  is  not  cant  we  want,  nor  sanctimony, 
bigotry,  or  s^Diritual  pride  ;  for  they  have  not 
this  origin,  nor  do  they  produce  these  fruits. 
What  we  want  is  a  natural  and  real  presence  of 
the  spirit  of  Jesus  in  the  hearts  of  His  followers, 
in  power,  setting  them  apart  from  men,  not  in 
the  conscious  superiority  of  pride,  but  by  the 
simple  force  of  that  sweetness  of  temper,  that 
rigid,  constant  and  natural  uprightness  of  con- 
duct, that  fulness  of  brotherly  love,  which 
marked  the  Nazarene.  We  want  no  tiling  that 
savors  of  hypocrisy  or  gloom,  or  that  hides  its 
origin  in  darkness  ;  nothing  unworthy  of  the 
children  of  light ;  nothing  that  is  not  pure,  that 
will  not  endure  the  scrutiny  of  that  searching 
Liglit  which  beams  full  upon  the  world. 

Second :  After  this,  there  is  crying  need  of 
aggression.  The  lesson  which  the  sweet  exam- 
ple of  tlie   Christian  shall  create,  needs  to   be 


18  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

thrust  home.  Appeal  must  be  made  to  men. 
Righteousness  is  to  be  infused  throughout  the 
realms  of  law,  society  and  commerce.  The 
present  schemes  of  Christian  evangelism,  cul- 
ture and  charity,  call  loudly  for  reinforcements  ; 
and  there  is  ever  need  that  new  schemes  be  set 
on  foot.  We  want  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ, 
wearing  the  "  armor  of  light "  and  wielding 
the  sword  of  truth.  We  want  men  with  conse- 
crated tongues  to  speak,  brains  to  devise,  and 
purses  to  give,  for  CMst.  In  a  word,  we  need 
a  determined  advance  and  a  bold  aggression  all 
along  the  line,  as  well  as  a  maintenance  in  right- 
eousness of  the  ground  already  occupied. 

When,  now,  in  order  to  devise  a  remedy  we 
seek  to  apportion  blame,  we  are  met  by  a  serious 
problem ;  so  vast  is  our  failure  and  so  wide  is 
its  reach. 

It  is  worthy  of  specific  mention,  however, 
that  the  class  of  Christians  from  wliich  the  most 
efficient  aggression  might  be  expected,  is  seldom 
heard  from  on  the  battle-field.  This  class  is 
composed  of  stirring,  successful  merchants  and 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS.  19 

manufacturers  ;  farmers  and  traders  of  means, 
influence  and  large  operations ;  prominent  phy- 
sicians ;  attorneys  of  extensive  reputation ; 
statesmen  of  note  ;  men  of  letters ;  women  who 
rule  in  society  or  who  wield  a  facile  pen ;  and 
all  who  are  recognized  as  "  leaders,"  whether 
to  a  great  or  small  extent  and  whether  in  a 
wide  or  narrow  sphere. 

These  are  the  people  who,  with  others  like 
them  in  every  thing  but  their  adherence  to 
Christ,  make  the  most  noise  in  the  world  in 
general.  They  effect  changes  of  laws,  customs, 
ideas.  They  bear  sway  in  society,  in  the  court 
room,  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  in  political 
organizations,  in  the  centres  of  trade.  Yet 
withal  many,  if  not  the  most  of  them,  seldom 
or  never  make  personal  appeal  or  personal  exer- 
tion for  Christ  or  for  dying  men.  All  the  more 
honor  to  those  of  them  who  do ! 

This  is  not  all.  These  people  are  industrious 
and  successful  —  in  work  that  suits  them.  In 
pushing  selfish  interests  they  are  bold  and  ener- 
getic.    Their  fault  lies  deeper  than  their  inac- 


20  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

tion  in  the  Master's  service :  it  lies  in  tlieir 
all-absorbing  selfishness.  They  are  notably 
"conformed  to  this  world."  Their  time,  their 
talent,  their  means,  their  influence,  are  lavished 
on  the  altar  of  Vanity,  while  the  altar  of  Christ 
stands  bare  ! 

He  who  has  no  time  for  thought  upon  or 
action  in  the  great  work  of  the  church ;  who  has 
neither  time  nor  taste  for  devising  means  and 
measures  for  the  elevation  of  the  masses ;  no 
time  to  attend  a  religious  convention,  much  less 
to  elaborate  a  stirring  and  practical  address  for 
delivery  there ;  no  time  to  devise  the  founding 
or  the  fostering  of  churches,  schools  or  charities, 
or  the  inauguration  of  reforms,  yet  has  time  to 
forecast  the  rise  and  fall  of  stocks  and  the  fluc- 
tuations of  trade ;  has  hours  and  days  to  spend 
in  anxious  thought  on  railroad  combinations  or 
on  political  or  commercial  complications  ;  until 
Power  becomes  his  controlling  thought,  and 
Christ  and  humanity  seem  but  the  actors  in  a 
receding  dream. 

She  who  has  no  leisure  and  no  gifts  for  teach- 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS.  21 

ing  in  the  Sabbath  school  or  for  direct  endeavor 
toward  the  elevation  of  the  degraded,  yet  has 
tact  to  win  Society  to  her  drawing-rooms,  and 
time  by  the  day  with  which  to  respond  to  her 
tyrant's  exorbitant  demands.  Not  subjecting 
society  to  Christ  and  using  it  for  Him,  —  as  some 
most  nobly  do,  and  as  she  might  do  with  little  vis- 
ible change  of  habit,  —  but,  sui-rendering  herself 
in  degrading  slaver}^  to  be  swaj^ed  for  the  glory  of 
Mammon,  she  abuses  God's  good  gifts  until  her 
heart  grows  callous  to  appeal  from  the  suffering 
or  in  their  behalf ;  until  her  affections  become 
fastened  and  are  frittered  away  upon  the  vani- 
ties of  the  hour ;  until  her  heart  grows  cold 
toward  Jesus  himself,  and  her  actions  become 
indistinguishable  from  those  of  His  contemners 
and  His  foes. 

This  is  worldliness,  —  the  blight  of  the  church  ! 
These  Cliristians  are  walking  as  "children  of 
darkness  and  of  the  night."  Their  hearts  have 
become  fixed  on  worldly  things.  They  have 
come  to  love  worldly  society,  aims,  fashion, 
culture,  small  talk.     Their  mightiest  efforts  are 


22  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

put  forth,  tlieir  keenest  ardor  is  displayed,  in  the 
pursuit,  the  capture,  and  the  momentary  enjoy- 
ment of  trifling  ambitions  light  as  air  and  un- 
substantial as '  the  bubble  which  delights  the 
child.  And  loving  these  glittering,  transient 
things  so  well,  their  lives  unconsciously  take  on 
some  of  their  changing  hues  and  tints  ;  but  at 
the  cost  of  piety,  worth  and  usefulness. 

Thus  it  is  that  they  have  grown  worldly  at 
heart,  and  have  become  conformed  to  this  world 
in  their  lives.  The  world  has  crept  in,  and  by 
necessary  consequence  their  Christian  life  is 
dwarfed,  sickly,  and  gasping  for  breath. 

Something  like  this  is  the  condition  of  many 
of  our  "  ten  millions  "  of  communicants,  —  how 
many  it  is  impossible  to  say.  What  wonder 
that  the  fruits  of  godliness  are  so  scant ! 

Let  there  be  no  mistake.  It  is  by  no  means 
meant  to  restrict  this  observation  to  those  whose 
exalted  position  has  made  their  ignoble  career 
so  prominent.  The  worldly  Christians  are  not 
all  after  this  order.  There  are  also  the  indo- 
lent, who  love  worldly  ease  ;  the  sordid,  whose 


LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS.  23 

canker  is  "  the  love  of  money  ;  "  the  vain  and 
giddy,  whose  religion  seems  as  frothy  and  inane 
as  are  their  ordinary  speech  and  behavior  ;  the 
place-seekers  in  the  church,  —  no  petty  host ;  the 
merely  indifferent,  who  maintain  an  outward 
respectability  and  are  satisfied ;  the  wayvrard 
and  the  careless,  almost  and  sometimes  quite 
immoral ;  and  alas !  there  are  also  some  who 
are  stumbling,  and  some  who  have  already 
fallen,  into  manifest  disgrace. 

All  these  are  walking  "in  darkness,"  their 
eyes  closed  to  the  light ;  wliile  yet  there  ever 
sounds  in  their  heedless  ears  the  entreaty  of 
their  Lord  to  "walk  even  as  He  walked,"  to 
maintain  His  honor  and  to  advance  His  inter- 
ests ;  while  yet  there  arise  on  every  side  the 
cries  of  men  in  testimony  that  sin  has  wrecked 
the  race,  and  pleading  for  human  help  to  rescue 
souls  from  the  ruins. 

To  all  such  comes  the  affectionate  admonition 
of  the  Saviour :  — 

'''-Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men." 

And   this  voice    of    the    Master  wakes  the 


24  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

echoes  of  the  Scriptures,  so  that  the  words  come 
back  again  from  every  quarter :  — 

"  Ye  are  all  the  children  of  light  and  the  children  of 
the  day;  we  are  not  of  the  night,  nor  of  darkness. 
Therefore  let  us  not  sleep,  as  do  others.  .  .  .  For  they 
that  sleep,  sleep  in  the  night ;  and  they  that  be  drunken 
are  drunken  in  the  night.  But  let  us  who  are  of  the 
day  be  sober,  putting  on  the  breastplate  of  faith  and 
love,  and  for  a  helmet  the  hope  of  salvation." 

"  The  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light  that 
shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 

"  But  if  we  walk  in  the  light  as  He  is  in  the  light, 
we  have  fellowship  one  with  another.  ..." 

"  Walk  as  children  of  light.^^ 


PART    FIRST. 


COMING   TO   THE   LIGHT. 
(Christian  Beginnings.) 


He  that  doeth  truth  cometh  to  the  light."  —  John  iii.  21. 


I.  Starting  Out. 
11.  Locating  the  Light. 


"  Awake  !  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and 
Christ  shall  give  thee  Ught."  —  Eph.  v.  14. 


STARTING  OUT. 

"  While  ye  have  light,  believe  in  the  light,  that  ye  may  be 
the  children  of  light."  —  John  xii.  36. 
"Dost  thou  belieA-e  on  the  Son  of  God?  "  —  John  ix.  35. 

TS  the  reader  a  Christian?  This  question  con- 
fronts us  upon  the  very  threshold  of  all 
converse,  whether  concerning  the  soul's  safety 
hereafter,  or  its  usefulness,  honor  and  happiness 
here. 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  proclaims  himself  the  life 
and  the  light  of  men. 

He  teaches :  that  "  men  love  darkness  rather 
than  light,  because  their  deeds  are  evil ; "  that 
by  nature  they  are  "  the  children  of  darkness," 
blinded  by  "  the  god  of  this  world,"  and  befogged 
in  hopeless  doubt  as  to  truth,  duty,  and  destiny ; 
that  they  "  walk  in  darkness,"  oppressed  by 
guilt,  beclouded  by  the  exhalations  of  indwell- 
ing sin,  stumbling  as  they  go,  and  so  doomed  to 


28  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

plunge  at  last  into  a  destiny  of  "  blackness  of 
darkness"  —  to  be  cast  into  "outer  darkness," 
where  shall  be  "  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth." 

This  is,  in  part.  His  portraiture  of  the  king- 
dom of  darkness.  It  swallows  up  all  mankind. 
There  is  no  light,  no  valid  hope  of  a  bright 
future,  no  escape  from  the  midnight  gloom 
which  has  already  settled  down,  or  from  the 
appalling  doom  in  which  it  must  issue  —  unless 
light  appear  from  without. 

In  man's  dire  need  the  light  appears.  Whence 
is  it?     What  is  it? 

We  are  told  that,  in  the  last  analysis,  "God 
is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at  all." 

But  God  is  not  said  to  be  "  the  light  of  men^'' 
for  he  is  invisible  ;  so  far  His  light  is  of  no 
avail.  Will  God  reveal  Himself?  There  is 
already  the  revelation  in  nature ;  but  neither 
does  that  include  a  remedy  for  the  sin  and 
death  which  were  unknown  when  this  revela- 
tion was  made,  nor  can  the  eyes  which  sin  has 
since  bedimmed  discern  what  was  adapted  only  to 


COMING   TO    THE  LIGHT.  29 

the  keen  vision  of  a  righteous  soul.  Shall  there 
be  a  revelation  adapted  to  the  sinner^ s  wants? 

The  Son  of  God  comes.  He  assumes  our 
nature.  His  human  name  is  Jesus.  He  is 
"  the  Word  of  God,"  revealing  Him  —  "  God 
was  manifest  in  the  flesh."  In  Him  the  light 
becomes  visible  to  mortal  eyes.  As  He  an- 
nounces himself,  He  is  "  the  light  of  the  world," 
"  the  light  of  men." 

His  divine  pity  makes  known  God's  love  for 
us.  His  sacrificial  death  opens  before  us  the 
path  to  forgiveness  and  reconciliation  to  God. 
His  teaching  and  conduct  make  our  duty  doubly 
plain.  His  character  exhibits  the  image  we 
need  to  bear.  His  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
the  subordinate  gifts  of  the  Bible,  the  Church 
and  the  Sabbath,  disclose  the  method  of  our 
recovery.  And  His  promises  guarantee  everi/ 
thing  to  the  soul  that  will  simply  trust  Him. 
The  light  has  come  !     Man's  want  is  met ! 

Accordingly,  men  are  invited  to  Christ :  — 

"  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth." 


30  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"  Awake !  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light." 

"  While  ye  have  light,  believe  in  the  light,  that  ye 
may  be  the  children  of  light." 

And  the  promises  are  :  — 

"  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt 
be  saved." 

"  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting 
life." 

"  He  that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness, 
but  shall  have  the  light  of  life." 

Unto  this  light  our  eyes  are  to  be  opened ;  to 
it  they  are  to  be  lifted ;  we  are  to  follow  it,  to 
commit  ourselves  unreservedly  to  its  guidance. 
That  is  to  say,  it  is  necessary  to  the  happiness, 
the  usefulness,  the  redemption  of  men,  that 
they  "believe  in  the  light,"  and  so  become 
"  the  children  of  light."  Wherefore  the  ques- 
tion is  thrust  home  upon  the  soul  :  "  Dost 
thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God?" 

1%  the  reader  a  Christian  ?  Even  apart  from 
the  question  of  destiny  involved,  this  matter  is 
fundamental.  It  is  impossible  to  "  walk  as 
children  of  light "  except  we  be  of  their  num- 


COMING    TO   THE  LIGHT.  31 

ber.  And  it  is  in  vain  to  suggest  counsel  look- 
ing toward  such  a  walk  while  doubt  hangs  upon 
the  prior  question  of  the  "being." 

Multitudes  are  oppressed  by  this  doubt. 
They  may  be  Christians  nevertheless.  If  so, 
their  destiny  is  secure.  Mere  doubt  does  not 
exclude  from  heaven.  But  its  presence  bars 
the  way  against  almost  all  appeal.  The  prom- 
ises lose  their  force  with  one  who  hesitates  to 
receive  them  to  himself.  The  injunctions,  ex- 
hortations, warnings  and  enticements  of  the 
Scriptures,  which  are  addressed  in  such  abun- 
dance to  and  are  possessed  of  so  much  power 
over  the  Christian,  are  pointless  for  the  soul 
who  knows  not  what  he  is,  who  is  continually 
leaping  from  pillar  to  post  and  from  post  to 
pillar,  un^villing  or  unable  to  take  his  place 
either  iimong  God's  people  or  among  His  ene- 
mies. Letters  addressed  to  a  citizen  of  heaven 
are  not  accepted  by  the  man  who  will  not  wear 
the  name.  It  is  difficult  to  feed  one  who  dan- 
gles at  the  end  of  an  elastic  cord  between 
heaven  and  earth,  or  to  reach  with  an  urgent 


82  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

message  one  who  is  ever  restlessly  passing  and 
repassing  from  shore  to  shore  of  a  great  ocean. 

The  doubting  Christian  has  no  status.  He 
has  no  certain  consciousness.  He  knows  not 
whether  he  be  saint  or  sinner :  messages  for  the 
one  and  the  other  slip  by  him  in  turn  ungrasped. 
He  knows  not  by  what  motives  he  may  be 
influenced.  He  feels  small  interest  in  the 
delightful  promises  attached  to  the  commands 
for  Christian  work.  He  has  little  heart  for  a 
service  which  presupposes  a  soul  filled  with  joy 
over  its  assured  redemption.  In  a  word,  his 
doubt  cuts  the  sinews  of  his  activity,  bedims 
the  joy  that  would  prompt  him  to  it,  and  dulls 
the  edge  of  the  warnings  which  crowd  the  path 
of  his  cowardly  retreat.  However  it  may  fail 
to  interfere  with  his.  final  acquittal  and  redemp- 
tion, it  fatally  mars  his  happiness  and  usefulness 
meanwhile. 

is  the  reader  a  Christian?  This  is  the  most 
momentous  question  which  the  soul  will  ever  be 
called  upon  to  answer.  It  is  certainly  worth 
while  to  pause  in  order  to  obtain  a  rational  and 


COMING    TO   THE  LIGHT.  33 

decisive  judgment  as  to  one's  standing  before 
God  and  his  eternal  destiny.  No  one  can  afford 
to  remain  in  doubt.  Too  much  is  at  stake  to 
warrant  the  indulgence  of  any  peace  or  content- 
ment while  the  doubt  remams. 

There  is  no  need  that  doubt  remain.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  the  case  to  prevent 
the  speedy  attainment  of  a  rational  certainty. 
The  conditions  of  the  question  are  briefly, 
plainly,  and  repeatedly  given.  No  tedious  re- 
search, no  painful  process,  is  required.  '  The 
Giver  of  salvation  must  lay  its  law  alone.  He 
has  issued  no  uncertain  or  puzzling  declarations 
to  bewilder  the  judgment,  but  has  said :  ''  The 
word  is  nigh  thee."  If  one  come  into  a  puz- 
zled and  bewildered  state  of  mind,  it  must  be 
because  he  has  neutralized  the  force  of  God's 
simple  words  by  mingling  with  them  "  the  tra- 
ditions of  men."  When  these  traditions  are 
given  a  hearing,  they  produce  a  confusion  of 
ideas,  a  misconception  of  the  facts,  and  a  refusal 
to  receive  to  one's  self  the  declarations  meant 
for  him.  Bewilderment  sets  in  at  once  upon 
2*  c 


34  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

this  refusal,  and  the  soul  drifts  helplessly  out 
into  the  terrible  fog  of  uncertainty.  While 
also  it  is  true  that  some,  misguided  by  the  same 
false  light,  are  led  by  it  to  indulge  a  calm  assur- 
ance and  a  serene  contentment  upon  the  sup- 
position that  they  are  Christians,  when  they 
certainly  are  not  Christians.  Is  the  reader  a 
Christian  ? 

1.  Not  all  members  of  the  church  are  the 
children  of  God.     Christ  said  :  — 

"  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  '  Lord,  Lord,' 
shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  .  .  .  Many 
wUl  say  to  me  in  that  day,  '  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not 
prophesied  in  thy  name,  and  in  thy  name  cast  out 
devils,  and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful  works  ? ' 
And  then  will  I  profess  unto  them,  '  I  never  knew 
you ;  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity  ?  ' " 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  many  a  professing 
Christian  of  our  day,  perhaps  many  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel,  will  be  addressed  in  these  words 
at  the  judgment.  The  communion-roll  of  the 
church  on  earth  affords  no  adequate  evidence  of 
one's  standing  before  God.    Nor  do  good  works, 


COMING   TO    THE  LIGHT  35 

as  a  member  or  an  officer  of  tlie  church,  avail: 
"  Not  of  works  lest  any  man  should  boast." 

A  Christian  was  once  called  to  see  the  wife  of 
an  English  clergyman,  who  lay  apparently  dying 
far  from  home  and  her  husband.  Presuming 
that  she  was  a  Christian,  he  merely  quoted  a 
few  texts  of  Scripture  suitable  to  her  as  such,  to 
comfort  her,  then  prayed  with  her  and  with- 
drew. As  he  left  the  outer  door,  he  heard  her 
bell  ring.  A  moment  later,  he  was  overtaken 
by  a  servant  who  in  the  lady's  name  asked  him 
back.     Upon  his  return,  she  said  :  — 

"  Ah,  sir  !  I  have  no  such  peace  and  comfort 
as  you  presume.  Do  speak  to  me  about  the  way 
of  salvation.  I  have  played  the  harmonium  in 
our  church,  kept  a  girls'  class,  presided  over  a 
Dorcas  society,  and  all  that;  but  these  things 
fail  to  quiet  my  conscience  in  the  prospect  of 
appearing  before  God." 

This  Scripture  was  named  and  dwelt  upon: 
"  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."    It 


36         .      THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

was  sought  to  divert  lier  attention  from  what 
she  had  done  to  Christ,  that  she  might  say  — 

"  I  trust  in  what  my  Lord  has  done 
And  suffered  once  for  me." 

The  lady  repeated  the  text  to  herself  musingly 
several  times,  and  said : 

"  I  know  that  passage  well ;  but  I  see  there 
is  something  in  it  I  have  never  observed  before." 

The  Lord  blessed  the  word  and  also  raised 
her  up.  The  hlood  brought  peace  to  her  con- 
science when  all  else  had  failed.  She  goes  on 
with  her  works  as  before,  but  from  quite  differ- 
ent motives.  Her  church-membership  "  and  all 
that "  are  not  now  in  order  to  be  saved,  but 
because  she  is  saved,  and  because,  being  saved, 
she  desires  to  walk  in  the  light.* 

The  inquiry  is  not.  Is  the  man  a  church-mem- 
ber? but,  "Dost  thou  believe  on  the  Son  of 
God?" 

2.  This  is  not  a  question  of  "  experience,"  as 
the  term  is  commonly  used  in  the  churches. 

The  experience  is  not  a  matter  of  observation ; 

*  From  "  Life  and  Light." 


COMING    TO    THE  LIGHT.  37 

it  cannot  furnish  a  test.  Regeneration  is  God's 
work.  It  is  wrought,  not  before  men's  eyes, 
but  in  the  fathomless  depths  of  the  soul.  It 
involves  in  its  process  the  subtlest,  the  most 
secret  workings  of  the  heart.  Comparisons  of 
the  "  experience  "  reveal  vast  differences  in  dif- 
ferent persons.  One  has  no  warrant  for  meas- 
uring himself  by  others :  — 

"  For  we  dare  not  make  ourselves  of  the  number,  or 
compare  ourselves  with  some,  that  commend  them- 
selves ;  but  they,  measuring  themselves  by  themselves, 
and  comparing  themselves  among  themselves,  are  not 
wise.  .  .  .  But  he  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in  the 
Lord." 

Many  trust  more  in  their  experiences  than  in 
Christ.  As  a  consequence  when  variations  of 
feeling  come,  as  they  are  sure  to  come,  these 
people  are  plunged  into  doubt  and  distress. 
Religion  is  experimental ;  but  the  experience 
has  been  erected  as  a  test  by  man  alone,  and 
contrary  to  the  tenor  and  the  letter  of  the 
Word.  The  change  wrought  is  instantaneous 
and  vital,  but  the  Scriptures  are  silent  concern- 


38  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

ing  the  supposed  necessity  of  its  detection,  as  a 
matter  of  observation  or  of  feeling,  at  the  time 
of  its  occurrence  or  at  any  other  time.  Christ 
preached  regeneration  to  Nicodemus  when  he 
was  lethargic  and  self-confident.  The  moment 
he  betrayed  the  dawning  of  interest  and  of  a 
practical  purpose,  the  Master  skilfully  turned 
the  subject  of  discourse,  saying : — 

"  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness, 
even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  that  whoso- 
ever helieveth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eter- 
nal life." 

In  this  form  of  discourse  He  continued ;  nor 
did  He  once  return  to  the  matter  of  regenera- 
tion, or  intimate  the  necessity  of  aiming  at  it  as 
a  separate  end,  or  of  trusting  in  the  experience 
of  it  as  an  evidence  of  salvation.  The  drift  is 
evident:  it  is  for  man  to  believe,  for  God  to 
recreate.  The  necessity  of  regeneration  is  thun- 
dered in  the  ears  of  the  careless  and  the  self- 
righteous.  But  to  the  awakened  soul  comes 
this  word:  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  thou  slialt  be  saved."     And  to  the  doubt- 


COMING   TO    THE  LIGHT.  39 

ing  disciple  it  is  declared  :  "  He  that  believeth 
that  Jesus  is  the  Clirist  i%  born  of  God." 

The  eyes  are  to  rest  only  on  the  cross.  Re- 
generation is  necessary,  as  also  are  many  other 
things ;  let  the  soul  "  believe  in  the  light ; " 
God  will  not  neglect  Hih  work. 

Two  railway  travellers  were  conversing  on 
this  subject.     Said  one  :  — 

"  I  have  the  Book  that  makes  known  eternal 
life,  but  I  cannot  say  that  I  have  it.  I  want  to 
feel  that  I  have  it." 

It  was  replied :  "  When  the  clerk  laid  your 
ticket  on  the  window-board  this  morning,  did 
you  say, '  I  must  first  feel  that  I  have  this  ticket 
before  I  take  it  ?  '  Or  did  you  first  take  it,  and 
then  feel  that  you  had  it  ?  " 

Many  are  led  by  feeling  instead  of  faith.  The 
"feeling"  follows:  it  does  not  precede.  Even 
then  its  distinctness,  its  precise  nature,  and  the 
rapidity  of  its  following,  can  be  indicated  by  no 
rule.  Nor  was  it  designed  that  it  should  be 
subject  to  a  ceaseless  and  morbid  self-examina- 
tion.    The  soul's  "  look  "  must  be  an  out-look, 


40  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

not  a  look  within  ;  to  Christ,  not  self.  "  Look 
unto  ilfe,"  not  for  a  moment  only,  but  ever. 
The  Christian's  motto  is,  "  Looking  unto  Jesus 
the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith." 

"  My  hope  is  built  on  nothing  less 
Than  Jesus'  blood  and  righteousness  ; 
I  dare  not  trust  the  sweetest  frame, 
But  wholly  lean  on  Jesus'  name. 
On  Christ,  the  solid  Rock,  I  stand  :  ' 

All  other  hope  is  —  sinking  sand !  " 

"  My  father,"  said  a  young  man,  "  was  as  good 
a  man  as  was  in  all  the  parish,  but  he  could  not 
say  he  was  saved;  no,  not  even  when  dying. 
At  that  solemn  moment,  he  was  anxious  for 
some  token  "  — 

"  Token  I     What  do  you  mean,  pray  ?  " 

"  Mean?  Why  I  mean  he  expected,  or  wished 
to  see,  or  hear,  or  feel,  something  to  assure  him 
that  he  was  going  to  heaven.  But  he  got  noth- 
ing, —  no  token." 

The  very  vagueness  of  such  a  hope,  as  shown 
when  brought  to  the  light  in  words,  betrays  its 
uncertainty  and  its  utter  lack  of  warrant.  The 
Scriptures  speak  with  no  such  uncertain  sound. 


COMING    TO    THE  LIGHT.  41 

There  is  a  token,  but  it  is  not  in  the  human 
heart.  It  is  in  the  word :  "  Behold  the  hlood 
shall  be  to  you  for  a  token !  "  And  there  is  no 
other. 

"  A  wicked  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  after 
a  sign ;  but  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  it  but  the  sign 
of  the  prophet  Jonas.  For  as  Jonas  was  three  days 
and  three  nights  in  the  whale's  belly,  so  shall  the  Son 
of  Man  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of 
the  earth." 

The  resurrection  is  the  sign,  following  upon 
the  crucifixion  and  burial,  and  indicating  Christ's 
finished  work.  The  blood  is  the  token.  The 
promise  in  the  Gospel  is  the  warrant.  The  soul 
that  will  rest  here  may  do  so  without  fear. 
There  is  no  other  testimony  to  be  had.  No 
inward  work  or  feeling  is  of  value  as  an  evi- 
dence. 

3.  This  is  not  a  question  of  achievements,  as 
some  suppose.  The  right  to  wear  the  name 
Christian  is  not  in  suspense  until  the  perform- 
ance of  Christian  labors.  The  order  in  nature 
and  in  grafce  alike  is :  first,  the  life ;  then  the 
name ;  and  the  labors  in  due  time  afterward. 


42  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Paul  was  a  Christian  when  he  entered  Da- 
mascus, when  he  had  as  yet  done  nothing  for  his 
Lord.  The  jailer  at  Philippi  was  a  Christian 
when  he  arose  to  be  baptized;  yet  a  few  mo- 
ments before  he  had  been  an  impenitent  and 
apparently  a  hardened  sinner.  He  had  indeed 
asked,  in  his  ignorance,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?  "  But,  the  answer  omitting  "  doing  " 
entirely,  the  word  was,  '-''Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 

True,  the  Master  has  said :  — 

"  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me  *  Lord,  Lord,' 
shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

But  the  same  lips  elsewhere  add  the  interpre- 
tation :  — 

"  And  this  is  His  will,  that  ye  believe  on  Him  whom 
He  hath  sent ! " 

So  far  as  becoming  a  Christian  is  concerned,  it 
is  quite  true  that :  — 

"Nothing,  either  great  or  small, 
Remains  for  thee  to  do ; 
Jesus  did  it,  did  it  all, 
Long,  long  ago. 


COMING    TO   THE  LIGHT.  43 

"  When  He  from  His  lofty  throne 
Stooped  down  to  do  and  die, 
Every  thing  was  fully  done ; 
*  'Tis  finished  ! '  was  His  cry." 

Wherefore,  in  order  to  become  a  Christian  : 

"  Cast  your  deadly  doings  down, 
Down,  all,  at  Jesus'  feet ; 
Stand  in  Him,  in  Him  alone, 
All  glorious  and  complete." 

4.  Some  stand  in  doubt  of  themselves  be- 
cause they  have  failed  to  attain  to  their  ideal. 
Such  persons  either  misuse  the  true  ideal,  or 
they  erect  a  false  one. 

The  true  ideal,  and  goal,  of  the  Christian  life 
is  the  perfect  manhood  exemplified  in  Christ :  — 

"  Till  we  all  come,  in  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  nnto  a  perfect  man, 
unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ.  .  .  .  That  we  .  .  .  may  grow  up  into  Him  in 
all  things." 

No  one  has  attained  this  perfection.  It  is  our 
goal,  not  our  beginning.  Are  there,  then,  no 
Christians  ?     Preposterous ! 

The  Christian  life  begins  by  birth,  is  feeble 


44  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

at  first,  and  advances  by  a  slow  process  of 
growth,  sometimes  very  irregularly.  And  ttiis 
whole  process  is  inner  and  invisible.  It  is  not 
at  any  time  susceptible  of  measurement  by 
mortal  man. 

Moreover,  there  is  no  standard  of  measure- 
ment save  Christ.  Men  erect  standards,  often 
from  observation  of  some  saintly  lives ;  and 
herein  men  err.  Such  standards  are  unwar- 
ranted, and  the  measurements  by  which  they 
are  obtained  cannot  but  be  grossly  inaccurate. 
The  use  of  any  such  "  standard  "  must  produce 
mischief.  Nothing  may  be  allowed  to  take  the 
eyes  from  the  Master.  The  soul  has  enough  to 
do  in  striving  for  growth  in  Him,  up  to  His  ful- 
ness ;  any  withdrawal  of  the  look  and  cessation 
of  the  effort,  in  order  to  a  vain  attempt  to  meas- 
ure the  distance  travelled  or  to  note  the  point 
attained,  is  but  a  sinful  folly. 

Any  measurement  of  one's  self  by  men, 
whether  in  respect  of  the  "experience,"  the 
"  stature  "  or  the  "  conduct  "  in  grace,  is  a  blun- 
der,  resulting  from   disuse   of    the    light  and 


COMING    TO   THE  LIGHT.  45 

walking  in  darkness  ;  and  this  is  true  whether 
the  measurement  be  in  the  interests  of  self- 
conceit  or  of  self-depreciation :  "  they,  measur- 
ing themselves  by  themselves  and  comparing 
themselves  among  themselves,  are  not  wise." 

Many  say  they  have  such  an  exalted  concep- 
tion of  what  the  Christian  ought  to  be  that  they 
dare  not  call  themselves  Christians :  they  are 
"  only  trying  to  be "  Christians.  These  are 
wiser  than  their  Master.  In  truth,  although 
no  doubt  unconsciously,  they  are  too  proud  to 
be  considered  Christians' at  all  until  they  can  be 
such  admirable  Christians  that  observers  shall 
brand  them  "superior"  and  "first-class." 
They  are  grossly  in  error.  They  stumble ;  and 
others  fall  over  them. 

The  Scriptures  speak  only  of  "  babes "  in 
Christ,  of  "  growth  "  in  grace,  and  of  "  perfect 
manhood."  Every  one  must  begin  as  a  "  babe." 
It  is  inquired  whether  the  reader  have  begun  ; 
not  whether  he  have  become  so  mature  a  Chris- 
tian that  he  may  trust  somewhat  in  himself, 
for  that  may  never  be.     Still,  as  ever,  the  Sav- 


46  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

iour  asks,  "Dost  thou  believe  on  the  Son  of 
God?" 

5.  This  is  not  a  question  of  creeds,  but  of  the 
person  of  Christ.     Is  there  faith  in  Him  ? 

Half-witted  Tom  sought  admission  to  the 
church  as  a  Christian.  He  was  asked  for  a 
confession  of  his  faith.  His  sole  answer  was 
the  singing  of  a  couplet  which  he  had  learned 
fi'om  a  dying  sailor:  — 

"  I  'm  a  poor  sinner  and  nothing  at  all ; 
But  Jesus  Christ  is  my  All  in  All." 

He  was  refused  admission  and  went  aAvay  much 
grieved.  Returning  to  renew  his  application, 
he  uttered  the  same  statement  of  his  faith ;  and 
so  eager  did  he  seem  and  so  evident  did  it  be- 
come that  he  knew  the  meaning  of  the  words 
he  uttered,  that  he  was  at  length  received. 

It  was  enough.  No  larger  creed  is  necessary. 
It  needs  but  that  the  soul  relinquish  all  hope  of 
safety  save  in  Christ,  and  receive  Him  as  its 
salvation.  The  sinner  is  brought  face  to  face 
with  the  Saviour.  There  the  two  stand  alone. 
The   Master    speaks.      He    seeks   the   sinner's 


COMING    TO    THE  LIGHT.  47 

trust,  his  confidence  in  His  own  person :  "  Dost 
thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God  ?  " 

6.  "  But  I  must  repent ;  I  have  not  yet  re- 
pented enough." 

The  twofold  action  contemplated  in  the 
Saviour's  question  is  repentance  and  faith  in 
one.  The  tangible  feature  of  repentance  is  the 
act  of  turning ;  turning  from  wrong  to  right, 
from  error  to  truth,  from  sin  to  salvation.  All 
these  ends  meet  in  Christ :  "  He  that  hath  the 
Son  hath  life."  Turning  from  all  else,  "  Dost 
thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God  ?  " 

The  soul  is  sick  unto  death.  The  disease  is 
sin.  —  Christ  is  the  Physician. 

Man  is  justly  condemned  by  the  law,  for  sin. 
—  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of 
the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us." 

The  divine  life  has  gone  out  of  the  soul  be- 
cause of  sin.  A  new  life  must  be  imparted.  — 
"  He  is  our  life." 

The  disciple  is  still  frail ;  he  sins  still. —  "  If 
any  man  sin,  we  have  an  Advocate  with  the 
Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous ! " 


48  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

We  are  under  the  sway  of  sin.  —  Christ  is 
King.  An  old  catechism  wisely  teaches  that 
"  Christ  as  our  Redeemer  executeth  the  office 
of  a  King  by  subduing  us  unto  himself,  by  rul- 
ing and  defending  us,  and  by  restraining  and 
conquering  all  His  and  our  enemies."  He  said : 
"  Ye  call  me  Master  and  Lord ;  and  ye  say  well, 
for  so  I  am." 

Man  is  in  darkness  by  reason  of  sin  in  dark- 
ness as  to  truth,  duty  and  destiny.  —  Christ  is 
"  the  light  of  men."  Is  all  other  guidance  sac- 
rificed and  surrendered  for  the  guidance  of 
Christ,  in  all  matters,  whether  of  doctrine,  of 
duty,  or  of  hope? 

In  a  word :  so  far  as  the  soul  has  ascertained 
its  needs,  is  Christ  accepted  as  the  full  supply, 
the  One  "  mighty  to  save,"  "  able  to  save  to  the 
uttermost  all  that  come  unto  God  by  Him  ?  " 

"  The  whole  world  was  lost  in  the  darkness  of  sin : 

The  Light  of  the  world  is  Jesus. 
Like  sunshine  at  noonday  His  glory  shone  in : 

The  Light  of  the  world  is  Jesus. 
Come  to  the  Light :  'tis  shining  for  thee. 
Sweetly  the  Light  has  dawned  upon  me , 
Once  I  was  bhnd,  but  now  I  can  see  : 

The  Light  of  the  world  is  Jesus." 


COMING    TO   THE  LIGHT.  49 

"Just  as  I  am  !  without  one  plea 
But  that  thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  thou  bidst  me  come  to  thee, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come. 

"  Just  as  I  am  !  poor,  wretched,  blind  ! 
Sight,  riches,  healing  of  the  mind. 
Yea  all  I  need,  in  thee  to  find, 
0  Lamb  of  God,  I  come." 


II. 

LOCATING  THE  LIGHT. 

"  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light  unto  my 
path."  —  Ps.  cxix.  105. 

"^T  7HEN  one  has  definitely  ascertained  that 
lie  is  a  Christian,  he  must  needs  begin 
to  reckon  himself  one  of  that  countless  and 
varied  host  divinely  termed  "  disciples,"  "  be- 
lievers," "  saints,"  "  children  of  light."  What- 
ever is  authoritatively  said  to  these  in  general, 
is  specifically  addressed  to  him  —  whether  it  be 
promise,  precept  or  reproof,  permission  or  re- 
straint, comfort  or  rebuke  :  it  is  his  own. 

Where  shall  this  authoritative  address  be 
found? 

Manifestly,  the  disciple  must  be  directed  by 
his  Master.  The  thought  is  subject  to  His 
teaching,  and  the  conduct  subject  to  His  will. 
The  Christian's  motto  is,  "  Looking  unto  Jesus, 
the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith."     Christ 


COMING    TO    THE  LIGHT.  51 

completes  what  He  undertakes.  The  soul  is 
surrendered  to  His  hands.  He  "  is  made  unto 
us  wisdom  and  righteousness  and  sanctifi- 
cation  and  redemption."  He  is  every  tiling  to 
the  believer.  He  is  his  Prophet  and  his  King, 
as  fully  and  as  necessarily  as  his  Priest:  the 
disciple  must  be  subject  to  His  constant  guid- 
ance and  His  unremitting  rule,  as  well  as  to  the 
daily  ai)plication  of  His  sacrificial  blood.  For 
the  terms  are  given  :  "  Whosoever  he  be  of  you 
that  forsaketh  not  all  that  he  hath,  cannot  be 
my  disciple."  Christ  is  the  Guide  :  "  I  am  the 
light."  "  He  that  followeth  me  shall  not 
walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of 
life." 

But  where  is  this  light  ?  The  voice  that  was 
heard  in  Galilee  is  not  heard  among  us  now. 
Jesus  is  seized  from  our  sight.  Whither  shall 
we  look  for  guidance  ? 

There  is  something  significant  in  the  double 
coincidence  which  assigns  the  same. names  to 
Jesus  the  Person,  and  the  Book,  the  Bible. 
He  was  known  as  "  the  Word,"  "  the  Word  of 


62  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

God."  On  tlie  eve  of  His  departure,  in  His 
intercessory  prayer,  He  took  up  this  name  and 
left  it  behind  attached  to  the  Scriptures.  He 
prayed,  "  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth  ; 
thy  word  is  truth." 

He  was  also  self-styled  "  the  light,"  and  this 
name  too  has  been  attached  to  the  Bible  :  "  Thy 
word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light  unto 
my  path." 

There  these  names  still  cling  ;  and  justly,  for 
the  Bible  is  to  us  what  Jesus  was  to  the  first 
disciples  —  the  revealer  of  God's  thought. 
Christ  is  the  revelation  of  God :  the  Bible  is  the 
revelation  of  Christ,  and  therehy  the  revelation 
of  God.  "  The  Bible  is  neither  a  code  of  morals 
nor  a  system  of  doctrine,  but  the  revelation  of  a 
Person."  It  is  the  expression,  in  writing,  of 
the  truths  and  precepts  which  Jesus  illustrated 
in  His  life,  and  spake  with  His  lips.  It  is  Christ 
reduced  to  rule  and  promise  in  human  lan- 
guage. His  explicit  command  and  statement 
are :  "  Search  the  Scriptures :  .  .  .  these  are 
they  which  testify  of  me." 


COMING   TO   THE  LIGHT.  53 

Clirist  quotes  from  the  Old  Testament,  and 
appropriates  it  as  His  own.  His  own  words  and 
the  inspired  record  of  His  deeds,  form  the  begin- 
ning and  basis  of  the  New  Testament ;  and  on  that 
basis  the  rest  of  it  was  built,  at  His  command,  and 
under  the  promised  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  whole  Book  is  animated  by  His  Spirit. 
Jesus  is  the  golden  thread  running  through  the 
sixty-six  fragments  and  uniting  them  in  one 
living  structure.  The  one  Christ,  in  various 
forms  of  revelation,  appears  throughout.  The 
type  and  the  prophecy,  the  song  and  the  sacrifice, 
the  ritual  and  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament, 
speak  of  Christ  and  for  Christ  as  certainly,  as 
constantly  and  as  accurately,  if  not  as  completely, 
as  do  the  sermons,  the  biographies  and  the  epis- 
tles of  the  New.  Christ  built  the  Book.  He 
speaks  through  it.  It  is  His  representative  as 
the  light  of  men.  To  this  book,  as  to  Him,  the 
disciple  must  come  for  cheer  and  comfort,  for 
doctrine  and  reproof — for  the  guidance  of  all 
thought  and  action. 

True,    Christians    also    are    declared   to   be 


54  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"  lights  ill  the  world,"  and  in  the  aggregate,  as 
the  church,  "the  light  of  the  world."  This, 
however,  is  in  subordination  to  the  Scriptures. 
The  Word  is  the  storehouse  of  instruction,  the 
authoritative  revelation,  the  immediate  and  dis- 
tinctive representative  of  Jesus  as  the  light  of 
men :  "  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony ;  if 
any  man  speak  not  according  to  this  Word,  it 
is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them."  No  lesser 
luminary  may  be  ignored,  but  it  may  not  replace 
the  greater,  or  divide  its  dignity.  He  who 
travels  in  utter  darkness  on  an  unknown  and 
dangerous  way,  relies  for  guidance  on  the  lamp 
he  carries,  though  he  find  use  also  for  the  flick- 
ering fires  by  the  roadside.  The  Bible  is  the 
guiding  light.  It  has  been  so  furnished  with 
latent  material  for  illumination,  that  its  capabil- 
ities cannot  be  overmatched  by  any  emergency 
or  exhausted  by  any  length  of  use  :  "  All  Scrip- 
ture is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profit- 
able for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for 
instruction  in  righteousness ;  that  the  man  of 
God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto 


COMING   TO   THE  LIGHT.  55 

all  good  works."  Small  as  the  volume  is  to 
human  sight  and  touch,  it  yet  is  so  condensed, 
so  wisely  free  from  useless  elements,  and  so 
divinely  preshaped  to  the  individual  needs  of 
believers  severally,  as  to  comprise  all  that  any 
Christian  need  be  told  in  order  to  the  full  direc- 
tion of  his  thought  and  conduct. 

Moreover,  this  is  no  mere  book.  The  eye 
does  not  fall  upon  mere  dead  print.  The  living 
Voice  still  echoes  in  these  chambers.  The  prom- 
ise is,  "Lo  I  am  with  you  alway."  Christ's 
Spirit  still  lingers  in  these  sacred  pages.  The 
Book  is  inspired  —  it  breathes  ! 

It  is  true  that  a  certain  life  and  power  are 
imparted  also  to  the  books  of  men  —  something 
of  thought  lies  behind  the  dead  letter ;  but  the 
degree  of  difference  between  these  and  the 
Book  of  God,  is  so  great  as  to  become  a  bridge- 
less  gulf:  it  is  infinite.  It  is  like  the  difference 
between  the  ordinary  quantities  of  mathematics, 
and  the  "infinite  quantity"  whose  powers  are 
beyond  the  range  of  calculation ;  between  the 
ordinary  facts  of  science,  and  the  realm  of  fact 


56  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

termed  "  the  unknowable ; "  between  the  finite 
and  circumscribed  life  of  man,  and  the  being  of 
Him  who  is  "  from  everlasting  to  everlasting  —  " 
man  has  a  certain  "life,"  but  God  is  life.  The 
so-called  "inspiration"  of  hunmn  writings  is 
derived,  circumscribed  and  adulterated,  so  that 
they  are  utterly  devoid  of  fitness  for  guidance 
save,  at  second-hand,  as  reflecting  the  thought 
of  God.  The  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  such  as  to  make  it  the  con- 
stant channel  for  the  /  immediate  and  exact 
conveyance  of  God's  thought  to  every  man 
to  whom  it  is  sent,  for  every  emergency  when  he 
may  use  it,  and  up  to  the  point  of  time  when 
it  may  be  the  Giver's  pleasure  to  lay  it  aside. 

This  Book  is  so  fashioned  that  peculiar  mes- 
sages, suited  to  his  needs,  are  hidden  in  the  let- 
tered shell  for  each  believer,  which  another  may 
not  find  there,  and  which  he  finds  only  as  the 
needs  arise.  There  is  a  personal  and  present 
communion  between  the  soul  and  the  Master 
through  these  records :  "  God  .  .  .  hath  spoken 
unto  us  by  His  Son,"  and  still  speaks.   "  He  [the 


COMING    TO    THE  LIGHT.  57 

Holy  Spirit]  shall  receive  of  mine  and  show  it 
unto  you  "  —  progressively,  as  occasion  requires 
and  application  is  made.  The  same  short  pas- 
sage holds  concealed  a  myriad  messages  for  the 
myriad  wants  of  myriad  men,  prepared  not  "  on 
general  principles,"  but  on  definite  foreknowl- 
edge of  the  personal  needs  of  each  at  every 
moment  of  time. 

Thus  the  Scriptures  become  to  the  believer 
the  living  voice  of  God,  the  voice  of  Jesus  the 
God-revealer,  addressing  Mm  in  tender  accents 
which  the  ear  may  almost  catch,  and  with  a 
specific  and  exact  adaptation  of  meaning  and  of 
manner  which  attest  the  directness  and  person- 
ality of  the  address.  To  him  who  will  receive 
the  Book  as  it  is,  as  "  the  revelation  of  the  Per- 
son, Christ  Jesus,"  addressed  to  him,  who  will 
surrender  himself  to  its  guidance,  will  bathe 
himself  in  its  atmosphere  and  saturate  his 
thought  with  its  expressions,  and  will  resort  to 
it  both  habitually  and  in  emergency,  it  will 
prove  itself,  through  the  animating  Spirit,  at 
least  as  adequate  a  light  as  Jesus  was  to  the  first 


58  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

disciples.*  It  was  designed  to  be  nothing  less 
than  this. 

It  has  so  proved  itself  already,  in  the  experi- 
ence of  every  Christian.  The  soul  has  found 
its  living  Saviour  through  His  speech  in  the 
words  of  Scripture.  He  is  found  nowhere  else. 
Some  one  text,  at  least,  was  made  to  breathe,  to 
utter  its  voice,  to  give  the  conviction  of  a  Sav- 
iour speaking  through  it  in  personal  and  direct 
address.     Else  had  not  the  soul  believed. 

All  that  is  now  needed  is  to  enlarge  the  scope. 
The  same  Jesus  speaks  throughout.  The  whole 
matter  of  salvation,  including  the  guidance  of  all 
thought  and  action,  is  purely  a  personal  affair 
between  the  soul  and  Christ ;  at  no  point  an 
affair  of  creeds,  churches.  Christian  opinion,  or 
general  rules  of  human  devising.  And  in  His 
conduct  of  the  soul  forward  step  by  step,  Christ 

*  See  John  xvi.  7 :  "It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go 
away,"  &c.  Christ  indicates  that  the  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  being  spiritual  and  unhampered  by  the  claims  of  the 
flesh,  is  more  effective  and  comprehensive  than  His  own  could 
be.  Our  privileges  exceed  those  enjoyed  by  His  nearest  per- 
sonal friends ! 


COMING    TO    THE  LIGHT.  59 

employs  His  whole  word  as  a  vehicle  of  address, 
address  fresh,  direct  and  apt:  ''''All  Scripture 
is  .  .  .  profitable,"  &c. 

Bid  the  believer  find  Christ  elsewhere  ?  He 
heard  Him  speaking  through  these  records,  and 
here  only  in  the  last  analysis :  for  His  voice  — 
the  shining  of  His  light  —  through  Christians, 
to  which  some  give  attention,  is  due  to  their 
having  heard  Him  here  ;  they  are  "  lights  in  the 
world "  only  as  they  follow  Him,  only  as  they 
receive  Him  to  their  hearts  and  exhibit  Him  in 
their  lives. 

Accordingly,  the  dilemma  is:  the  whole  Bible, 
or  no  Christ ;  a  dilemma  from  which  there  is 
no  escape  ;  for  all  the  authority  He  claimed  for 
himself  as  Teacher,  He  claims  for  this  Book  as 
used  by  His  Spirit. 

It  would  therefore  be  to  the  last  degree 
irrational,  for  the  Christian  at  least,  to  refuse 
or  to  disuse  the  Bible  as  the  rule  of  his  life  ; 
or  to  listen  in  preference  to  any  other  voice, 
touching  any  matter  whatever  of  either  faith 
or  conduct. 


60  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Some  seem  still  to  doubt  the  practical  value 
of  the  written  Word  for  guidance  in  the  mi- 
nutiae of  life.     What  then  ? 

1.  The  Saviour  bids  us  resort  to  it :  "  Search 
the  Scriptures  ;  .  .  .  these  are  they  which  tes- 
tify of  me."  His  word  by  the  mouth  of  David 
is,  "  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet^  and  a 
light  unto  my  path."  "  Wherewithal  shall  a 
young  man  cleanse  his  ivay  ?  by  taking  heed 
thereto  according  to  thy  word."  And  every- 
where the  impression  is  distinctly  conveyed  that 
Christians  require  and  may  obtain  constant  and 
most  minute  direction  through  the  Bible. 

2.  The  fundamental  law  of  life  is,  "  Whether 
therefore  ye  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatever  ye  do, 
do  all  to  the  glory  of  God."  This  law  certainly 
requires  frequent  contact  with  "the  mind  of 
Christ "  as  He  presents  it  in  His  word.  How 
else  can  the  conduct  be,  regulated  by  a  rule  so 
sweeping,  and  so  foreign  to  the  common 
thought?  How  else  can  true  motive  be  culti- 
vated and  maintained  ?  We  have  been  so  used 
to   act  from   other  motives   than   love   to   the 


COMING   TO   THE  LIGHT.  Gl 

Redeemer  ;  we  are  so  tempted  by  common  and 
seemingly  harmless  custom  to  act  still  upon 
other  principles  and  to  other  ends  than  the 
glory  of  God ;  that  there  needs  to  be  a  con- 
stant struggle  for  possession  of  the  Bible-spii-it 
and  for  familiarity  with  Bible-precept;  else  we 
shall  waste  our  years  in  hopeless  straying ! 

3.  We  are  weak.  The  treasures  of  grace 
which  we  enjoy  are  kept  in  "  earthen  vessels." 
It  is  easy  for  us  to  do  wrong,  and  at  the  same 
time  persuade  ourselves  that  we  do  right. 
There  must  be  constant  "correction;"  and 
"•  All  Scripture  is  profitable  ...  for  correc- 
tion." 

4.  The  Bible  is  not  on  so  lofty  a  plane,  nor 
are  its  pages  so  filled  with  other  things,  as  to 
separate  it  from  the  petty  needs  of  our  daily 
life.  It  was  meant  to  be  the  guide,  not  only  to 
our  more  elevated  thoughts,  but  also  to  our 
most  unimportant  acts.  And  as  befits  a  book 
designed  for  common  use,  by  common  people 
and  in  common  affairs,  its  style  is  simple,  its 
address   is  direct,  its  precepts  abound,    and  it 


62  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

presents  a  vast  number  of  vivid  and  pertinent 
illustrations  of  the  method  of  right  conduct. 

The  Christian  who  places  the  Bible  afar  off, 
and  considers  his  daily  thought  and  behavior 
outside  of  or  beneath  its  directions,  misses  the 
use  of  the  vast  wealth  of  provision  which  it  con- 
tains. The  bulk  of  the  Book  seems  to  him  but 
an  arid  desert.  Oases  are  few.  He  finds  re- 
freshment in  but  a  promise  here  and  a  precept 
there.  The  rest  is  as  barren  and  dry  as  Sahara. 
How  many  Christians  speak  of  the  Bible  in  just 
such  terms !  Their  seeming  poverty  is  the 
result  of  their  own  blunder.  It  is  folly  to 
squander  resources  so  rich,  so  needful,  and  so 
apt. 

The  book  of  Proverbs  may  furnish  an  illus- 
tration. "Would  that  our  young  men,  espe- 
cially our  Christian  business-men,  were  satu- 
rated with  its  thought !  It  is  rich  in  practical 
wisdom  for  the  minute  affairs  of  common  life. 
It  abounds  in  apt  and  pointed  suggestions  and 
pungent  warnings,  concerning  our  companion- 
ships,  our   personal   habits,   our   employments, 


COMING    TO    THE  LIGHT.  63 

our  management  of  finance,  our  speech,  the  gov- 
ernment of  tongue  and  temper,  and  many  other 
such  things  which  daily  perplex  the  earnest  soul, 
and  daily  occasion  harm  to  the  thoughtless  and 
the  misguided.  The  minuteness,  the  precision, 
tlie  comprehensiveness,  the  pungent  power  of 
these  directions,  are  a  never-ceasing  marvel. 
And  they  come  to  the  thoughtful  Christian  as  the 
expression  of  his  Master's  present  thought  for 
his  guidance  ;  so  that  he  knows  them  to  be  cor- 
rect, in  the  highest  sense  of  the  term. 

In  precepts  of  this  sort,  the  Scriptures  are 
rich  throughout.  The  large  room  given  to  them 
in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  merely  suggests  and 
illustrates  one  of  the  features  of  the  entire 
Word.*  - 

*  Here  is  brought  to  view  one  beauty  of  this  marvellous 
Production  which  few  seem  to  have  observed  :  Every  fragment 
of  the  Bible  has  its  specialty,  and  that  specialty  marks  a  distinct 
feature  of  the  entire  Booh, — a  separate  thread  running  through  the 
whole  volume.  By  way  of  further  instances,  consider  :  Genesis, 
the  book  of  beginnings,  suggesting  that  tlie  Bible  reveals  only 
the  beginning  of  God's  thought;  rich  as  the  revelation  is, 
it  affords  a  mere  foretaste  of  our  heavenly  study  and  delight. 
Exodus,  recording  the  **  going  out "  of  God's  people  because  of 
their  redemption  by  Blood  :  this  thread  runs  through.     The 


64  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Yet  even  here  "the  Bible  is  not  a  code  of 
morals,  ...  but  the  revelation  of  a  Person;" 
whence  these  precepts  become  the  most  binding 
species  of  law,  —  to  him  who  owns  that  Person 
as  his  Lord  and  Master. 

Added  to  this,  we  have  biography,  affording 
varied  and  vivid  illustrations,  not  so  much  of 
virtue  and  vice  in  general,  as  of  many  definite 
excellences  and  faults  of  conduct  in  particular, 
and  of  their  antecedents  in  correct  or  erroneous 
thought,  and  in  correct  or  defective  training 
and  associations.  The  records  concerning  Noah, 
Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Jephthah,  Peter,  Joseph, 
Solomon,  Jonah,  and  Lot,  respectively,  furnish 
needed  and  forcible  warning  against  drunken- 
ness, falsehood,  rashness  in  making  vows  or 
promises,  unwise  parental  partialities,  false  self- 
reliance,  imprudence  of  speech,  irreligious   do- 

Gospels,  biographies  of  Christ :  the  whole  Bible  speaks  of  Him, 
Tke  Ejnstles,  addressed  to  the  several  churches :  the  Bible  is 
handed  down  to  and  brought  out  before  men  by  and  through 
the  churches.  The  Revelation,  a  prophecy  ;  the  entire  Bible, 
from  Genesis  iii.  15,  is  an  index  finger  pointing  forward  to 
Christ's  Second  Coming  and  the  glory  that  shall  then  be  re- 
vealed. 


COMING    TO    THE  LIGHT.  65 

mestic  alliances,  the  shirking  of  unwelcome 
duty,  and  the  neglect  of  religious  associations 
in  seeking  a  new  home.  Other  such  records 
expose  other  common  errors  of  conduct,  in  their 
seeds,  their  nature,  and  their  mischievous  re- 
sults. AVhile,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  in 
these  biographies  a  vivid  and  pleasing  exhibi- 
tion of  such  small  virtues  as  thoughtfulness  and 
cheerfulness,  hospitality,  persistence  in  the 
right,  discreet  management  of  business,  &c. 

These  biographical  records,  although  packed 
with  a  marvellous  compression,  nevertheless 
touch  our  common  thought  and  conduct,  our 
common  perplexities  and  desires,  at  nearly  every 
point,  and  with  an  almost  electric  power  to  win 
to  the  right  and  to  affright  from  the  wrong.  In 
this,  as  in  every  other  feature,  the  Bible  is  emi- 
nently, divinely  practical.  And  here,  as  else- 
where, it  is  "  the  revelation  of  a  Person,"  of 
Jesus  in  His  brief,  varied,  and  pointed  exhibi- 
tion of  good  and  evil,  of  truth  and  error,  of 
happiness  and  misery,  and  of  the  line  of  se- 
quence from  little  things  to  great  results.     That 


bb  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

is :  we  have  here  His  present  thought  for  His 
disciples,  severally.  Tim  is  "  the  best  modern 
thought " ! 

Further :  to  give  room  for  the  independent 
growth  of  the  individual  judgment,  —  which  the 
Bible  everywhere  seeks  to  stimulate,  not  to  re- 
press, —  and  to  provide  for  possible  questions  of 
creed  and  duty  not  otherwise  met,  certain  key- 
notes are  struck  for  us  here  and  there,  certain 
ruling  principles  are  given,*  whose  application 
to  minutiae  men  are  to  work  out  for  themselves. 
These  are  the  revelation  of  Jesus  in  His  lines  of 
thought.  By  the  vigorous  use  of  these  princi- 
ples alone,  a  discreet  man  might  regulate  all  his 
study  of  truth  and  all  the  affairs  of  his  life, 
large  and  trifling  alike,  with  but  few  mistakes. 

The  Scriptures  fully  justify  the  names  they 
bear,  "  the  Word  of  God,"  "  the  Light,"  as  the 
representative,  and  the  constant,  sufficient,  and 
living  utterance  of  Him  who  only  is  the  Light 
of  life  and  the  Lawgiver  of  His  people.     This 

*  See  Part  Third,  section  iv.,  of  this  volume ;  "  The  Laws 
of  Light." 


COMING    TO    THE  LIGHT.  67 

Book  is  fitly  and  necessarily  made  the  rule  by 
which  the  thought  and  the  demeanor  of  Chris- 
tians are  to  be  entirely  regulated. 

This  is  insisted  upon  because  it  is  funda- 
mental. "  If  the  foundations  be  destroyed,  what 
can  the  righteous  do  ?  "  This  foundation  has 
not  been  built  upon  by  the  masses ;  yet  its  use 
is  essential  to  the  best  appeal  and  counsel,  to 
the  best  Christian  living,  and  to  all  steadiness 
of  advance. 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  minds  of  many  are 
turned  in  other  directions.  Some  are  turned  to 
the  traditions  of  the  churches,  some  to  factitious 
rules  framed  by  men  and  often  unwarranted  by 
the  Word,  and  some  to  common  custom.  We 
hear  much  of  "  what  men  say,"  of  "  what  is  con- 
sidered right,"  of  "the  custom  among  our  people," 
and  of  ''the  rules  of  the  church"  and  "living 
up  to  them  ; "  although,  rightly,  few  churches 
have  many  "  rules  "  for  the  direction  of  personal 
conduct. 

No  church  may  justly  come  between  the  soul 
and   the   Saviour,   either  when  as  a  sinner  he 


68  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

seeks  salvation,  or  when  as  a  saint  he  desires 
guidance.  The  chnrch  may  only  point  to  the 
Saviour  as  revealed  in  the  Word,  and  this  she 
should  ever  do.  The  Bible  furnishes  our  only 
and  a  sufficient  rule.  Churches  make  mistakes. 
Public  opinion,  even  the  general  opinion  of 
Christians,  often  errs.  The  conscience  of  the 
believer  is  not  bound.  Even  when  the  interests 
of  Zion  require  of  him  deference  to  a  rule  or  a 
custom  for  which  he  fails  on  search  to  find 
Scriptural  warrant,  this  is  only  through  the 
application  of  the  Biblical  law,  "  If  meat  make 
my  brother  to  offend,"  &c.  Thus  to  the  last  he 
bows  to  Christ  alone,  and  acts  only  on  Scriptural 
direction. 

The  Christian  may  not  delegate  to  any  body 
of  men,  or  to  any  code  of  custom,  the  responsi- 
bility of  forming  his  creed,  of  deciding  questions 
of  duty,  or  of  furnishing  him  with  habits  of  life. 
Thought,  unduly  pressed  by  the  needs  of  a  time, 
may  crystallize  into  rul'es  which  will  inevitably 
outlive  their  usefulness ;  and  the  conditions  of 
one  epoch  may  favor  a  license  which   sterner 


COMING    TO   THE  LIGHT  69 

days  had  justly  forbidden,  and  which  may  as 
justly  be  revoked  upon  their  return.  For  all 
this  variety  of  need,  provision  is  made  by  the 
fulness  and  adaptability  of  Biblical  suggestion ; 
and  they  err,  to  their  own  and  others'  hurt, 
who  permit  commentaries,  books  of  discipline, 
the  voice  of  the  people,  or  any  tiling  else,  to 
take  the  place  of  the  one  sacred  Book  which 
was  explicitly  and  laboriously  prepared  "to 
guide  our  way."  Creeds,  commentaries,  books 
of  discipline,  have  their  places,  important  places ; 
but  this  place  belongs  to  the  Scriptures  alone. 

Some  are  infected  with  the  insane  notion  that 
submission  to  the  guidance  of  the  Bible,  even 
though  this  be  but  the  personal  and  immediate 
guidance  of  Clirist  through  the  Bible,  is  an  abne- 
gation of  the  right  of  free  thought.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  one  of  the  fruits  of  free  thought. 
To  deny  one's  self  its  use  is  to  invade  his  pre- 
rogative, not  to  strengthen  it.  Only  the  Chris- 
tian who  is  thorough-going  in  his  adhesion  to 
the  Scriptures  can  be  a  free-thinker  ;  he  "  walks 
in  the  light,"  and  is  certain  that  his  decisions 


70  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

are  correct  and  his  conclusions  just.  Can  men 
offer  something  better  than  this  ?  Impossible  ! 
This  is  the  very  acme  of  privilege,  of  accuracy, 
of  freedom. 

He  who  robs  his  reason  of  those  aids  to  in- 
formation which  the  Christian  has,  —  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Spirit,  the  use  of  the  Bible  m  Christ's 
infallible  Word,  and  the  enlightenment  afforded 
by  prayer,  —  and  who  binds  his  judgment  to 
decision  upon  the  wofuUy  inadequate  informa- 
tion that  remains,  instead  of  being  a  free- 
thinker, is  the  slave  of  ignorance  and  prejudice. 
His  judgments  cannot  fail  to  be  crude,  and 
usually  false. 

The  Christian,  on  the  other  hand,  is  one  who 
has  endowed  his  judgment  with  its  richest  fur- 
niture of  evidence  and  light.  He  permits  him- 
self to  use,  as  being  infallibly  true  and  pertinent, 
the  statements  of  God's  word ;  for,  on  principles 
which  he  cannot  possibly  reject,  and  by  a  short 
and  simple  process  of  reasoning,  he  has  ascer- 
tained that  those  statements  are  valid,  are  the 
utterances  of  God  Himself;  and  he  would  now 


COMING    TO   THE  LIGHT  71 

feel  impoverished  if  deprived  of  their  use.  He 
has  also  learned  to  employ  prayer,  and  to  await 
the  matchless  teaching  of  the  Spirit.  Thus  he 
has  placed  himself  directly  under  the  beams  of 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  thereby  achieving  a 
position  in  which  he  can  make  practical  use 
of  God's  good  gift  to  man,  —  an  enfranchised 
private  judgment. 

To  receive  a  certainty  as  truth  is  no  invasion 
of  intellectual  freedom.  One  cannot  help  re- 
ceiving it,  and  he  who  is  sincere  in  his  search 
for  truth  is  glad  to  come  upon  the  certainty. 
Simply  this  is  what  the  Christian  does.  More- 
over, he  does  this  rationally,  not  blindly.  He 
begins  by  following  Jesus,  it  being  utterly  ir- 
rational to  reject  RU  claims,  however  startling 
they  may  be.  Then,  walking  in  this  Light,  he 
is  inevitably  conducted  to  the  assurance  that 
Scripture  is  the  "light  unto  our  path"  provided 
by  the  Master.  Then  follows  the  walk  in  that 
light,  as  adequate,  and  as  representing  Jesus. 
Now  walking  in  Light  is  the  only  freedom  pos- 
sible. 


72  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Tlie  Christian  has  here  a  heritage  which 
should  not  be  lightly  sacrificed,  nor  its  fruits 
refused  or  squandered.  The  vast  benefits  in 
the  believer's  reach  by  the  faithful  use  of  the 
Bible  as  his  constant  guide  should  be  so  prized, 
so  eagerly  sought,  so  firmly  held,  as  to  crown 
his  days  with  light  and  gladness,  and  his  whole 
life  with  its  highest  success. 

"  *Tis  Revelation  satisfies  all  doubt, 
Explains  all  mysteries,  —  except  its  own,— 
And  so  illuminates  the  path  of  life 
That  fools  discover  it  and  stray  no  more." 


PART    SECOND. 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS   FOR  LIGHT. 

(WORLDLINESS.) 


My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  —  John  xviii.  36. 


I.  Stumbling. 
II.  Falling. 

III.  Maimed. 

IV.  Keproved  and  Recalled. 


"  Woe  unto  them  that  call  evil  good,  and  good  evil ;  that  put 
darkness  for  light,  and  light  for  darkness  ;  that  put  bitter  for 
sweet,  and  sweet  for  bitter."  —  Isa.  v.  20. 


I. 

STUMBLING. 

"  If  a  man  walk  in  the  night,  he  stumbleth ;  because  there 
is  no  light  in  him  !  "    John  xi.  10. 

nr^HERE  is  an  ellipsis  in  ttds  utterance.  As 
it  stands,  the  emphasis  is  on  the  words 
"  stumbleth  "  and  "  him ;  "  —  "If  a  man  walk 
in  the  night,  he  stumbleth;  because,"  it  being 
night,  there  is  no  Light  to  guide  him;  and 
"  there  is  no  hght  in  Mm^^  even  for  this  emer- 
gency. 

The  underl}dng  thought  is  patent  and  perti- 
nent, —  Men  should  not  walk  in  the  night.  The 
impenitent  do  so  of  necessity,  as  such,  and  so 
long  as  they  remain  impenitent :  they  are  chil- 
dren of  the  Night.  But  if  Christians  "  walk  in 
the  night,"  they  make  an  unnecessary  sacrifice 
of  prestige  and  privilege.  Are  they  not  "  chil- 
dren of  the  Day  "  ?  Why  should  they  lower 
themselves  to  the  level  of  the  "  children  of  dark- 
ness "  ?     Doing  so,  they  become  like  them,  — 


76  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

that  is,  worldlings.  They  are  guilty  of  worldli- 
ness,  —  ivo7'ldlihene9s. 

And  this  is  Worldliness,  of  which  we  hear  so 
much. 

"  To  sleep,"  to  "  walk  in  darkness,"  to  "  have 
fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of  dark- 
ness," and  to  be  "  conformed  to  this  world,"  are 
figurative  expressions  common  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  almost,  if  not  quite,  interchangeable. 
They  all  characterize  worldliness. 

This  sin,  then,  lies  in  closing  the  eyes  to  the 
Light,  in  walking  as  men  walk,  and  thinking  as 
men  think,  paying  little  regard  to  any  thing 
higher  than  public  opinion  and  civil  law.  It  is 
regulating  the  creed  and  life  by  other  guidance 
than  that  of  Christ.  It  has  its  origin  in  the 
neglect  of  close,  constant,  and  vital  consultation 
with  the  Master  through  His  Word,  and  in  the 
substitution  of  consultation  with  one's  self  and 
with' the  opinions  and  customs  of  men. 

Many  are  guilty  of  worldliness  who  are  loud 
in  its  denimciation.  They  are  sincere,  but  they 
are  mistaken. 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.       77 

They  are  mistaken  in  supposing  that  worldli- 
ness  lies  only  in  matters  of  conduct,  and  chiefly 
in  certain  notable  overt  acts.  They  think,  per- 
haps, that  because  they  shun  the  dance,  the 
theatre,  and  the  company  of  the  profane,  because 
their  conduct  is  set  off  from  that  of  the  impeni- 
tent by  a  certain  religious  air  and  a  certain  self- 
restraint,  therefore  they  are  not  worldlings! 
The  sin  has  a  deeper  root  and  a  wider  range 
than  these  suppose. 

The  slightest  act  performed  without,  or  con- 
trary to,  the  guidance  of  the  Word ;  the  slightest 
failure  to  do  what  the  Word  requires ;  even  the 
slightest  thought  indulged,  or  decision  as  to 
truth  reached,  except  hj  this  guidance, —  is  a 
stumble  in  the  dark,  a  piece  of  worldliness. 
Every  Christian  is  guilty  of  this  sin  ;  is  guilty 
as  often  and  so  far  as  he  fails  to  realize  in 
thought  and  behavior,  the  full  practical  value  of 
the  law,  "  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and 
a  light  unto  my  path." 

The  fallacy  which  makes  religion  a  matter  of 
external  forms  is  subtle,  widespread,  and  varied 


78  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

in  its  manifestations.  It  enters  tlie  realms  of 
creed  and  conduct  as  well  as  the  realm  of  public 
worship.  There  is  as  much  formalism  of  Chris- 
tian life  as  of  Christian  worship ;  and  the  for- 
mer is  even  more  to  be  deprecated  than  the 
latter.  It  were  better  to  have  the  life  right, 
even  if  it  seem  to  express  itself  in  worship  some- 
what stiffly,  than  to  have  but  the  appearance  of 
life,  and  to  have  that  appearance  dressed  in  stiff 
and  misleading  travesty  of  Christian  manners. 
"  Man  looketh  on  the  outward  appearance,  but 
the  Lord  looketh  on  the  heart."  Wherefore 
"  keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence,  for  out  of  it 
are  the  issues  of  life." 

Undue  stress  should  not  be  laid  upon  mere 
matters  of  dress,  speech,  and  behavior.  The 
great  evils  of  worldliness  are  not  here.  And 
especially  is  it  mischievous  to  indulge  —  as  so 
many  do  —  a  worldly  pride,  upon  account  of  the 
denial  of  certain  worldly  amusements  and  ambi- 
tions. 

This  tendency  to  emphasize  appearances  has 
led  to  many  distortions  of  Christianity.     The 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.       79 

philosophy  wliich  makes,  or  which  seems  to 
make,  godliness  consist  of  words  and  acts  alone, 
or  chiefly;  which  censures  rational  enjoyment 
and  cheerful  demeanor ;  which  pharisaically 
demands  that  Christians  conform  to  a  factitious 
line  of  conduct  which  their  fellow-'Christians 
have  drawn,  —  is  so  grievous  a  distortion  of 
Christianity  as  to  amount  to  a  grotesque  travesty. 
The  worst  misrepresentations  of  which  a  hostile 
infidelity  is  guilty  could  not  be  more  false  than 
tliis,  and  they  work  less  harm. 

Stumbling  does  not  proceed  from  inability  to 
see  at  once  all  that  the  Light  discloses.  The 
eyes  of  the  young  are  unused  to  the  light ;  but 
their  feet  are  kept. 

The  young  Christian  does  not  take  in  at  a 
glance  all  the  steeps  he  must  attempt,  and  all  the 
pitfalls  he  must  avoid.  He  has  yet  much  to  learn. 
His  earthly  guides  may  seek  to  lay  upon  him 
commands  which  he  has  not  had  opportunity  to 
receive  direct  from  the  Master.  Until  the  op- 
portunity be  had,  he  does  not  sin  by  refusing  or 
delaying   obedience.      For   example:   one   may 


80  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

become  a  Christian  without  having  first  learned 
wpon  authority^  that  it  is  the  Christian's  first 
great  duty  to  confess  his  Lord  by  achieving  a 
church-membership ;  or  that  it  is  his  duty  to 
read  his  Bible  daily,  to  lead  others  in  vocal 
prayer  upon  occasion,  to  maintain  the  worship 
of  God  in  the  family,  to  give  money  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  church  and  for  the  cause  of  missions, 
to  render  the  aid  of  personal  exertion  to  the 
work  of  evangelism.  Not  having  learned,  if  he 
go  forward  in  these  things  upon  mere  human 
pressure  or  mere  blind  impulse,  he  acts  without 
sufficient  warrant ;  he  advances  farther  than  he 
has  learned  the  way. 

Many  Christians  stumble  so,  forced  ahead, 
perhaps,  by  too  eager  Christian  friends  and 
teachers.  They  are  impelled  further  than  the 
path  is  made  plain  before  them,  and  so  beyond 
the  strength  and  wisdom  given  them.  As  a 
consequence,  they  break  down.  They  rush 
ahead  too  hastily,  stumble,  and  fall.  —  We  have 
had  too  many  Arthur  Bonnicastles.  —  And  it  is 
inevitable   that  their   fall   should    so    astound 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.       81 

them  —  inasmuch  as  they  thought  they  were  but 
doing  God  service  —  as  to  give  their  Christian 
life  a  shock :  it  becomes  dwarfed ;  growth  is 
checked  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  opportunity  to 
learn  is  neglected,  the  stumbling  is  as  certain  to 
follow  as  before.  To  delay  the  act  of  entering 
the  church,  or  any  thing  else  that  is  enjoined, 
longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the 
ascertainment  of  the  duty  as  duty,  is  sin.  It 
is  to  link  one's  self  with  the  world  unduly. 
The  eyes  being  open  to  the  Light,  they  should 
use  it  vigilantly  in  discerning  the  path ;  and 
action  should  follow  promptly,  at  whatever 
cost. 

All  this  is  as  true  when  applied  to  the  thought 
as  when  it  directly  affects  the  conduct.  "  The 
truth "  is  a  possession  "  more  precious  than 
rubies." 

"  Buy  the  truth 

And  sell  it  not." 
"Get  wisdom, 

Get  understanding." 

For  the  thought  will  influence  the  behavior :  — 
4*  p 


82  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

"  Keceive  my  words  .  .  . 
Then  shalt  thou  understand  the  fear  of  the  Lord, 
And  find  the  knowledge  of  our  God,  .  .  . 
That  thou  mayst  walk  in  the  way  of  good  men, 
And  keep  the  paths  of  the  righteous." 

"  Happy  is  the  man  that  findetli  wisdom, 
And  the  man  that  getteth  understanding. 


Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness. 
And  all  her  paths  are  peace." 

The  formation  and  the  constant  correction  of 
opinion  by  the  Word  are  duties  which  rest  on 
every  Christian  from  the  first.  Failure  to  dis- 
charge these  duties  will  work  harm.  To  omit 
independent  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and  to 
neglect  the  sermon  or  the  private  counsel  which 
might  stimulate  and  aid  it,  may  be  common,  but 
it  is  mischievous.  To  frame  a  creed  or  any  part 
of  one,  or  to  subscribe  to  one  that  others  have 
framed,  without  having  first  drawn  it  from  the 
Book  of  God's  wisdom  for  one's  self ;  to  permit 
others  or  another  —  a  church,  a  pastor,  a  news- 
paper, or  a  school  of  science  —  to  shape  one's 
thought :  is  to  close  the  eyes  to  the  Light,  and 
so  far  to  walk  in  darkness  and  stumble. 

Because  of  the  power  of  past  habit  and  pres- 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.       83 

ent  associations,  there  is  constant  danger  of  this 
kind  of  mistake.  It  seems  almost  impossible  not 
to  shape  the  life  upon  the  rules  of  society,  not 
to  do  as  men  do,  as  respectable  people  do,  or  at 
best  as  older  Christians  do  ;  not  to  think  as 
men  think  or  as  the  church  suggests.  It  is, 
after  all,  a  marvel  that  all  Christians  are  not 
thorough  worldlings.  That  there  is  so  much 
devotion  as  appears,  much  of  it  eager  and  sus- 
tained, is  nothing  less  than  a  miracle.  Only 
Omnipotent  grace  could  have  produced  it. 

There  be  many  who  "  put  darkness  for  light, 
and  light  for  darkness."  We  are  told  of  the 
light  of  reason,  the  inner  light,  the  light  of 
civilization,  and  many  other  supposed  day- 
makers.  There  is  always  a  .strong  and  steady 
drift  toward  forming  the  opinions  and  framing 
the  life  under  the  guidance  of  these  ignes  fatui. 
Even  good  books,  chui'ch-standards,  and  Chris- 
tian customs  may  serve  to  mislead.  .  Any  thing 
to  form  men's  notions  and  to  shape  their  con- 
duct by  another  rule  than  God's  rule. 

Sometimes  it  is  urged  that  the  Bible  was  not 


84  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

designed  to  guide  our  commoner  thoughts  and 
actions ;  sometimes,  that  its  precepts  were  de- 
signed only  for  those  to  whom  they  first  came. 
Any  thing  to  displace  or  disparage  the  Light, 
and  make  room  for  false  and  inadequate  substi- 
tutes. 

Sometimes  the  substitute  is  science  ;  social 
science,  physiological  science,  the  science  of 
trade.  Science  may  yield  aid  %o  far  as  it  is  the 
legitimate  product  of  the  Scrijjtures  ;  further  than 
that  it  must  mislead :  science  has  no  light  of  its 
own. 

Sometimes  it  is  the  reason.  But  the  reason 
is  of  use  only  to  receive,  arrange,  and  digest 
information.  The  reason  can  give  no  informa- 
tion, has  no  light  of  its  own. 

There  is  nothing  so  good  as  to  follow  the 
Master :  — 

"  If  any  man  walk  in  the  day  he  stumbleth  not, 
because  he  seetli  the  Light  of  this  world." 

"  He  that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness, 
but  shall  have  the  Light  of  life.'' 


II. 

FALLING. 

"  If  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  both  shall  fall  into  the  ditch." 
—  Matt.  xv.  14. 

"\T yHEN  the  Chri"stian  follows  man  rather 
than  God,  he  is  sure  to  fall.  This  false 
following  is  common,  and  the  falls  are  frequent. 

Some  start  wrong.  Neglecting  to  discern  or 
to  obey  the  command  which  makes  membership 
in  the  church  a  first  and  imperative  duty,  they 
remain,  so  far,  "  of  the  world  ; "  perhaps  upon 
the  plausible  plea  that  "  one  may  be  as  good  a 
Christian  out  of  the  church  as  in  it."  So  at  the 
very  outset  the  Scriptures  are  ignored  as  the 
guide  of  life. 

The  error  brings  a  hurt.  The  Christian  life 
in  these  people  is  dwarfed.  They  are  exposed 
to  much  unnecessary  temptation,  and  deprived 
of  much  needed  support  and  stimulus.  Some  of 
the   most   efficient   of  the  appointed  means  of 


86  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Christian  culture  are  unused,  and  ere  long  neg- 
lect is  apt  to  be  put  upon  the  others.  So  there 
grow  "up  no  rugged  virtue,  no  burning  zeal. 
There  is  rather  decay.  Even  the  hope  of  salva- 
tion is  apt  to  dwindle  and  die  out.  Faith  wanes. 
Charity  pines.     Sin  finds  an  easy  prey. 

Years  afterward,  having  been  "  recovered  out 
of  the  snare  "  into  which  they  had  been  "  led 
captive,"  they  may  come  forward  to  claim  a 
place  among  Christians,  as  many  such  have 
done,  with  confession  of  the  error  committed  in 
the  first  refusal  or  postponement.  But  the  years 
past  are  beyond  recall. 

Mrs.  K resided  in  the  midst  of  the  oppor- 
tunities of  the  church.  Her  attendance  was 
careless  and  fitful,  yet  she  became  a  Christian. 
She  chose  to  conceal  her  conversion.  She 
learned  from  the  Scriptures  that  the  Christian 
should  become  a  member  of  the  church,  but  for 
reasons  of  her  own  she  determined  not  to  do  so. 
After  a  time,  she  grew  steadily  less  hopeful,  and 
less  faithful  even  in  her  home.  She  even 
ceased  to  attend  divine  service.     When  asked 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.       87 

about  becoming  a  child  of  God,  her  answers 
were  so  vague  that  the  facts  in  her  case  were 
not  discovered,  and  her  manner  was  so  curt  as 
to  repel  further  inquiry.  Probably  no  one  sur- 
mised the  truth. 

Thus  passed  eleven  unprofitable  and  unsatis- 
factory years.  Then  Providence,  ever  co-oper- 
ating with  Grace,  interposed  to  arouse  her  from 
lethargy.  She  was  driven  to  her  Bible.  There 
she  was  forcibly  reminded  of  her  duty,  and  she 
saw  her  folly  in  neglecting  it  so  long.  She 
sought  an  interview  with  the  pastor  of  a  neigh- 
boring church.  To  him  she  confessed  with  sad- 
ness her  neglect  of  duty.  With  tears  she 
lamented  the  unhappy  state  of  her  household. 
She  asked  when  she  could  be  received  to  mem- 
bership in    the  church,   that    she    might 

"  begin  again,"  and  thenceforth  exert  a  healthier 
and  more  vigorous  influence,  in  her  home  at 
least. 

This  case  has  many  parallels. 

Others  so  seek  this  membership  as  to  vitiate 
its   sacredness.     They   "join"   because   friends 


88  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

wish  them  or  tell  tliem  to  do  so,  not  because 
Christ  commands  it.  Thus  the  act  falls  short 
of  its  hallowing  influence,  and  becomes  a  semi- 
hypocrisy.  Hosts  of  our  "  ten  millions  of 
communicants"  do  not  know  why  they  are 
communicants,  and  realize  but  feebly  the  privi- 
leges and  '  responsibilities  of  their  position ; 
and,  having  begun  by  doing  as  others  do  or 
say,  their  whole  life  is  at  second  hand. 

Many  determine  what  particular  church  to 
enter,  from  purely  human  motives.  They  go 
with  their  friends,  or  where  social  advantages 
offer,  or  where  financial  obligations  are  easy, 
or  where  the  type  of  piety  is  not  exacting  or 
stimulating,  or  where  but  little  work  will  be 
expected  of  them,  or  where  membership  may 
prove  profitable  in  a  business  way !  This  may 
all  be  well,  but  these  should  not  be  the  decisive 
considerations.  Divine  guidance  might  lead 
elsewhere,  —  where  the  Master  needs  His  dis- 
ciple. Duty  may  require  the  very  choice  that 
is  made,  but  it  should  be  made  as  duty,  not  as 
policy ;  else  the  association  of  Christians  gained, 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.       89 

seen  in  the  lurid  glare  of  a  false  motive,  will 
seem  less  than  sacred,  and  must  yield  far  less 
than  it  should  of  stimulus  and  growth.  How 
many  of  our  "  ten  millions  "  are  indulging  in 
the  carnal  luxury  of  a  selfish  church-member- 
ship ! 

The  conduct  of  many  in  the  church  is  regu- 
lated by  mere  worldly  principles.  They  receive 
the  teachings  of  the  pulpit  as  correct,  without 
bringing  them  to  the  Light  for  examination. 
Or  if  those  teachings  prove  displeasing,  they 
are  rejected  in  the  same  arbitrary  way. 

Many  seek  and  cherish  i^etty  place  and  power 
in  the  church. 

It  is  sometimes  sought  to  "  manage  the  church 
on  business  principles,"  and  those  the  "prin- 
ciples "  of  unsound  business.  Churches  are 
built  at  greater  expense  than  the  needs  and 
the  circumstances  of  the  people  warrant,  entail- 
ing wanton  and  baneful  debt.  The  large  con- 
gregation  of  the  church   in   the    city   of 

O has  only  recently  made  a  narrow  escape 

from  sale  under  the  sheriif's  hammer  for  a  debt 


90  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

of  190,000.  Its  cost  was  $175,000.  Energies 
and  efforts  are  diverted  from  legitimate  chan- 
nels for  concentration  on  this  matter  of  the 
debt,  and  must  be  for  years  to  come.  Mean- 
while, perhaps  the  church  may  do  some  service 
for  the  Master  —  incidentally ! 

It  is  sought  to  "  advertise "  churches  by 
conducting  the  worship,  notably  the  service  of 
song,  in  such  form  as  will  captivate  the  popular 
ear,  rather  than  wing  the  devotion  or  minister 
to  the  needs  of  the  Christian  heart.  The  pulpit 
is  sometimes  subjected  to  the  same  misrule. 
Money  is  raised  ''  for  the  church  "  by  question- 
able means.  Churches  are  made  to  seem  rivals. 
Proselytism  creeps  in.  It  is  sought  to  report  a 
large  roll  and  a  long  list  of  charitable  gifts, 
through  sheer  pride. 

At  times,  even  the  ministry  are  enveloped  in 
the  cloud  to  a  painful  extent.  The  service  of 
Christ  is  made  subordinate  to  ambition,  to  love 
of  lucre  or  of  ease,  to  rancor  and  hate.  The 
spirit  of  folly  steals  into  church-meetings,  both 
the   assemblies   of    the   local    society   and    the 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.       91 

larger  denominational  gatherings.  Discipline  is 
shirked,  "  for  fear  —  ! "  Creeds  are  pruned  or 
hidden  from  sight,  merely  to  please  men.  In 
fine,  the  Bible  would  sometimes  seem  to  have 
entirely  lost  its  place  as  the  guide. 

So  the  energies  of  many  are  wasted  on  worldly 
and  unfruitful  trifles,  or  in  seeking  good  ends 
vainly  by  false  methods.  The  spirit  of  piety 
sliiivels.  Money  is  squandered  or  withheld. 
Prayer  withers  into  formality,  or  ceases.  And 
Christians  and  churches  who  shoidd  walk  in  the 
Light,  holding  up  their  own  feeble,  imparted 
lights  for  the  guidance  of  men,  themselves  mis- 
take darkness  for  light,  stumble,  —  and  fall ! 

The  conduct  of  many  Christians  in  the  home 
is  any  thing  but  becoming  to  the  children  of 
Light.  God  is  not  recognized  as  God  of  the 
house.  Family  prayer  and  counsel  are  neg- 
lected, "  because  I  can't ; "  and  this  is  the  cant 
which  is  doing  more  harm  than  that  other  sort 
at  which  men  so  fiercely  shriek.  Parental 
responsibility  is  evaded,  and  opportunity  neg- 
lected.    The  Word   is   not  taught.     The   law 


92  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

of  God  is  not  enforced  in  the  family  as  He  re- 
quires. Cheerfulness,  forbearance,  self-restraint, 
self-denials,  are  not  practised,  especially  hy 
Christian  husbands  and  fathers !  And  so  the 
home,  which  should  have  been  made  a  power 
for  righteousness,  operating  constantly  on  all 
its  inmates  transient  and  permanent,  and  send- 
ing out  its  rays  of  light  and  healing  far  and 
wide,  by  every  visit  and  by  every  guest,  be- 
comes —  not  a  nonentity  in  the  work  of  grace, 
but  —  a  stumbling-block  in  the  path  of  its  ad- 
vance :  "  If  the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness, 
how  great  is  that  darkness  !  " 

The  business  life  of  many  Christians  is  regu- 
lated entirely  by  the  rules  of  man,  whereas  it 
should  be  regulated  solely  by- the  law  of  God. 
Tricks  of  trade  are  sometimes^  indulged.  There 
is  too  great  eagerness  to  be  rich.  Too  great 
risks  are  undertaken.  Excitement  is  too  much 
cultivated.  Too  many  debts  are  incurred. 
Unnecessary  complications  are  permitted,  and 
even  courted.  The  man  of  business  wearies 
himself  unduly  each   day,  and  goes  almost  to 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.       93 

the  point  of  exhaustion,  or  even  prostration, 
before  Saturday  night  closes  in ;  so  that  he 
cheats  liis  family,  his  own  soul,  and  the  church 
out  of  their  rightful  claim  upon  his  evenings 
and  his  Sabbaths. 

At  times,  none  too  rare,  there  follow  specula- 
tion, false  entries,  fraud,  bribery;  and  how 
much  more  each  reader  of  the  daily  newspaper 
knows  only  too  well. 

Society  imposes  its  rules  ;  and  many  Chris- 
tians accept  them  without  a  question,  without 
a  thought  of  testing  them  by  the  Word.  Evil 
companionships  are  tolerated.  Social  lines 
drawn  by  the  world  are  permitted  to  govern 
the  Christian,  although  they  bring  some  asso- 
ciations which  should  be  excluded,  and  exclude 
some  which  should  be  sought;  and  although 
they  impose  some  obligations,  taxing  time  and 
means,  which  should  be  disowned,  and  dis- 
own others  which  should  be  imposed  and  dis- 
charged. , 

Few  of  the  current  social  habits,  or  even 
amusements,  are  wrong   'per   se ;  but  the  ten- 


94  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

dency  of  many  of  them  is  evil,  and  indulgence  in 
them  is  seen  to  work  harm  with  a  frequency 
that  is  unpleasantly  suggestive. 

Moreover,  Society  ignores  duties  which  Christ 
commands  ;  for  example,  the  kind  of  gathering 
to  which  "  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  halt,  the 
blind"  are  called.  The  fashionable  world  is 
content  to  relegate  all  such  work  to  "  those 
queer  people  who  are  so  absurd ! "  or  to  some 
association  for  newsboys  and  boot-blacks. 

Society  puts  "  the  successful  man  "  above  the 
man  of  honor  and  honesty ;  limits  one's  duties 
to  one's  own  "set;"  and  is  apt  to  belittle  the 
claims  of  the  needy  and  the  ignorant,  especially 
those  beyond  the  range  of  its  immediate  vision : 
"  the  world"  does  not  affect  the  cause  of  Foreign 
Missions  ! 

In  all  these  things.  Christians  often  drift  with 
the  current  when  they  should  ascertain  duty., 
stem  the  tide  if  necessary,  and  do  right  at  all 
hazards.  It  is  not  meant  that  Society  should 
be  unnecessarily  assailed,  nor  yet  that  its  just 
claims  should  be  offensively  disregarded.     On 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.       95 

the  contrary,  deference  should  be  shown  when- 
ever—  as  is  usually  the  case,  perha23S  —  those 
claims  are  just.  But  the  Christian  should  ever 
have  a  higher  law  and  walk  by  it,  even  in  his 
deference  to  human  requirements  and  his  con- 
sideration for  others'  tastes. 

The  latest,  and  in  some  respects  the  most 
damaging  species  of  worldliness  is  of  quite  an- 
other kind.  It  is  exhibited  in  a  worldly  criti- 
cism of  the  Light  itself,  a  quasi  air  of  superiority 
to  the  Bible.  Some  portions  of  it  are  neglected, 
then  contemned.  Some  of  its  doctrines  and 
precepts  are  disowned.  Its  ordinances,  espe- 
cially the  Sabbath  and  the  Church,  are  mutilated 
by  hands  profane.  The  loosest  rationalistic 
criticism  is  permitted  (most  w-rationally)  to 
shave  off  here  and  to  puncture  there,  till  but  a 
remnant  of  the  Book  is  left  —  for  the  critic! 
and  even  that  remnant  is  shorn  of  moral  power, 
is  stripped  of  its  just  authority  as  a  guide  to 
faith  and  morals. 

The  reaction  from  this  folly  to  looseness  of 
life,  is  natural  and  inevitable.     The  critic  him- 


96  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

self  may  maintain  his  former  habits  of  integrity, 
—  scarcely  the  habits  of  devoted  piety, — but 
the  folly  is  transmitted  to  those  who  have  not  been 
so  staunchly  built  or  so  well  grounded.  Thus 
families,  churches,  and  communities  deteriorate 
in  a  generation  or  two,  until  open  immorality 
sets  in  and  makes  the  mischief  evident  to  all. 

"  If  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  both  shall  fall  into  the 
ditch ! " 


III. 

MAIMED. 

"  They  have  erred  from  the  faith,  and  pierced  themselves 
through  with  many  sorrows."  —  1  Tim.  vi.  10. 

TT  is  impossible  to  make  a  single  misstep  with- 
out injury.  It  may  be  the  crushing  of  gems 
or  flowers ;  it  may  be  the  spraining  of  the  mis- 
placed foot ;  it  may  seem  simply  delay  in  one's 
progress :  harm  of  some  sort  is  certain  to  follow 
the  mistake. 

"  The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  The  slightest 
sin  tends  to  disintegration  and  decay;  some 
valuable  interest  is  invariably  injured  or  de- 
stroyed. 

Some  forms  of  worldliness  wear  the  garb  of 
innocence.  "  An  innocent  pleasure,"  "  an  inno- 
cent ambition,"  are  names  which  often  serve  to 
entice  the  unwary.  The  innocence  is  only 
apparent.  Behind  it  lurks  some  subtle,  un- 
suspected poison.     Whenever   the   enticement 


98  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

prevails,  some  one  suffers,  "  pierced  through 
with  many  sorrows." 

Tlie  churches  suffer.  The  absence  of  con- 
verted men  from  their  places  among  the  mem- 
bers, serves  to  weaken  and  dishearten  those 
who  are  bearing  the  burdens  and  doing  the 
work.  The  church  is  doubly  weakened:  in  a 
partisan  canvass  every  vote  counts  two. 

A   vacant   church    in    the    goodly   town    of 

H ,  once  reported  to   a  visiting   clergyman 

a  roll  of  but  twenty  members,  and  greeted  him 
on  the  Sabbath  with  an  audience  of  ten  persons. 
He  was  informed  that  the  town  was  suffering 
immeasurably  from  infidelity,  intemperance, 
feebleness  of  social  life,  duplicity  in  trade,  a 
general  want  of  public  spirit,  and  all  the  earlier 
symptoms  of  decay.  There  were  several  oiher 
churches,  each  with  about  the  same  strength. 
All  the  active  Christians  in  the  community 
were  disheartened,  and  the  corporate  life  of  the 
several  Christian  bodies  was  feeble,  —  so  feeble 
that  even  their  weakness  could  not  bring  them 
to  unite  in  any  good  work.     Some  years  after- 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.       99 

ward,  a  season  of  evangelistic  labor  disclosed 
at  least  one  of  the  sources  of  this  decay :  there 
were  found  to  be  not  far  from  one  hundred 
Christians  in  the  community,  —  including  many 
men  and  women  of  culture,  means,  and  social 
influence,  —  entirely  disconnected  from  the 
churches,  many  of  them  being  generally  reck- 
oned mere  moralists,  if  not  sceptics.  They  had 
shrunk  from  assuming  the  responsibilities  of 
membership ;  *  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  cause 
of  righteousness  had  nearly  lost  its  foothold! 
It  is  said  that  many  of  these  persons  afterward 
took  their  places  in  the  churches,  but  the  evil 
wrought  could  "not  be  undone. 

The  presence  of  worldlings  in  the  church  is 
an  evil  only  less  grave.  The  influence  they 
yield  is  that  of  an  iceberg  which  some  warm 
wind  has  torn  loose  from  its  Arctic  moorings 
and  driven  into  milder  seas,  into  whose  waters 
it  brings  a  deadly  chill.     Contact  and  contagion 

*  It  must  have  been  that  the  churches  also  had  neglected 
their  duties.  Such  a  state  of  affairs  is  altogether  anomalous. 
On  any  other  supposition,  it  would  seem  impossible. 


100  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

follow.  Ardor  is  dampened.  Piety  wanes. 
Warmth  oozes  away.  Tlie  whole  atmosphere 
of  the  church  becomes  chilled  and  mouldy. 
Worldly  fashion  creeps  in,  becomes  law.  The 
church  grows  proud  of  its  respectability,  its 
wealth,  its  culture,  its  large  and  fashionable 
audiences,  its  influence  in  the  community ;  and 
this  pride  is  fed  by  a  transition  to  a  gaudy  and 
costly  church-building,  a  sensational  pulpit, 
and  an  operatic  service  of  song. 

Then  come  scandals.  A  prominent  member 
is  convicted  of  fraud.  One  of  the  officers  is 
found  to  have  indulged,  habitually  and  system- 
atically for  half  a  score  of  years,  in  glaring  social 
crime.  The  pastor  himself  becomes  involved 
in  the  toils  and  is  disgraced.  The  very  founda- 
tions of  the  church  are  shaken.  People  are 
horrified  at  the  revelations  made,  and  shun  its 
doors.  Its  name  becomes  a  by-word.  Before 
lost  prestige  be  restored,  there  must  be  a  tedi- 
ous gap,  to  be  filled  by  the  painful  work  of  disci- 
pline and  a  prolonged  humiliation  before  God. 

Tliis  progressive  statement  may  seem  unwar- 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.     101 

ranted.  Not  so  :  it  might  not  unfairly  serve 
as  an  approximately  accurate  history  in  outline 

of  the  church  in  the  city  of  ,  for  a 

period  of  fifteen  years  within  the  memory  of 
living  men ;  an  extreme  case  no  doubt,  yet  the 
case  of  a  church  that  had  had  unsurpassed 
antecedents  and  unusual  advantages. 

Worldliness  in  a  milder  form  prevailed  in  the 

church   in   the   little  village   of  S .     After 

some  years  of  comparative  indifference,  the 
newspaper  and  "  the  claims  of  the  time  "  were 
allowed  to  a  great  extent  to  displace  the  claims 
of  the  Bible  and  the  church.  As  time  passed, 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures-  became  widely 
ignored,  familj^  religion  declined,  and  preaching 
almost  ceased.  It  was  not  long  until  the  social 
life  of  the  community  was  almost  hopelessly 
shattered  by  alienations  ;  until  many  other  petty 
evils  crept  in ;  and  until  infidelity  attained  such 
strength  that  its  adherents  and  assemblages 
quite  overshadowed  those  of  the  church.  The 
Cross  became  an  object  of  contumely,  and  in 
some  cases  the  subject  of  ridicule,  among  the 


102  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

greater  number  of  tlie  more  intelligent  people 
of  the  town. 

It  is  said  that  all  this  was  afterward  changed ; 
the -conditions  were  quite  reversed.  But  these 
wasted  years  can  never  be  recalled,  nor  the 
mischief  wrought,  erased. 

Another  community,  within  the  limited  reach 
of  the  same  observer,  presents  a  record  very 
similar  in  the  general  features  named.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  a  score  of  illustrations  of  a  like 
nature  might  be  found  in  our  own  land  alone. 

The  misguided  soul  also  suffers. 

The  inner  life  of  the  Christian  is  a  sensitive 
thing.  As  a  breath  for  a  time  bedims  the  pol- 
ished mirror ;  as  the  careless  touch  of  its  sur- 
face by  so  much  as  a  needle-point  defaces  it : 
so  the  life  of  the  soul  is  darkened  and  marred 
by  every  sin.  Worldliness,  being  usually  habit- 
ual and  constant,  produces  a  prolonged  dim- 
ness and  a  deep  defacement.  The  joys  depart. 
Peace  yields  to  unrest.  The  stimulus,  the 
thrill,  the  throb  of  a  generous  life,  wear  away 
and  return  no  more  ;  supineness  supplants  zeal ; 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.     103 

murmurings  against  other  Cliristians  often  dis- 
place commendations  of  them ;  and  gloomy 
doubt,  or  the  love  of  unworthy  things,  occupies 
the  room  once  held  by  the  delights  of  ardent 
and  successful  service. 

Worse  things  follow.  The  habit  of  neglect- 
ing or  rejecting  the  guidance  of  the  Scriptures 
becomes  fixed,  and  the  soul  plunges  deeper  into 
the  night,  continually  making  fresh  blunders 
and  incurring  fresh  disasters. 

It  is  of  the  nature  of  worldliness  to  grow. 
It  pervades  the  soul  gradually,  and  enfolds  it 
slowly  and  steadily.  It  is  impossible  to  set  a 
limit  to  the  process,  save  by  revolutionizing 
the  conduct  and  "  steering  by  a  new  pole-star." 
Mere  good  intention  will  not  prevent  accession 
to  the  distress.  No  one  can  foresee  into  what 
blunders  of  life,  what  disappointments  of  pleas- 
ing expectation,  what  immoralities  and  even 
disgrace,  the  Christian  may  fall  who  walks 
otherwise  than  with  a  constant  following  of 
his  Guide. 

The   wrecks   of    once   promising    lives;    the 


104  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

ruins  of  once  honorable  professions,  of  fair 
names  and  joyful  hearts,  —  are  found  all  over  the 
land,  in  almost  every  city,  village  and  rural 
community  where  faithful  men  seek  the  way- 
ward and  the  wandering.  The  majority  of 
these  devastated  lives  are  never  rehabilitated  ; 
the  soul  usually  passes  away  in  death  from 
beneath  the  smothering  fragments  of  the  ruin, 
and  weeping  Christian  friends  are  left  to  com- 
mit it,  in  awful  doubt  of  its  destiny,  into  the 
hands  of  Him  who  knoweth  the  secrets  of  all 
hearts. 

He  who,  intoxicated  with  self-confidence, 
hoots  at  the  possibility  of  such  a  fall  in  his  case, 
is  usually  on  the  very  brink  of  shame; — like 
Simon  Peter  when,  in  the  face  of  the  Master's 
warning,  he  boasted,  "  Though  all  men  should 
be  offended  because  of  thee,  yet  will  not  I." 
That  night  he  fell!  "Let  him  that  thinketh 
he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall."  Only  he 
who  steps  back  aghast  upon  the  opening  of 
such  a  chasm  at  his  feet,  recognizing  his  danger, 
is  likely  to  escape  falling  headlong  into  it. 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.     105 

The  approaches  of  sin  are  sometimes  gradual, 
like  the  steady  tread  of  civilization  across  this 
continent,  occupying  as  it  goes,  and  driving  all 
hostile  life  before  it,  step  by  step.  In  such 
cases,  after  a  time,  the  soulis  usually  pressed 
further  and  further  into  the  night ;  and  it  sub- 
mits to  each  new  pressure,  to  almost  any  limit, 
rather  than  endure  the  terrible  wrench  of  tear- 
ing loose  and  turning  back,  and  the  terrific  and 
protracted  conflict  necessary  to  regain  its  posi- 
tion and  reconquer  its  heritage. 

Sometimes  in  one  unwatchful  moment,  akin 
to  the  hour  of  sleep  in  Gethsemane,  a  surprising 
and  peculiarly  apt  temptation  seizes  the  soul,  and 
at  once  hurls  it  down  from  the  heights  to  an 
infamous  depth. 

A and  G were  the  sons  of  American 

clergymen  of  devoted  piety  and  of  good  report. 
Both  were  undoubted  Christians.  Each,  in  his 
turn,  leaning  upon  self  instead  of  Christ,  confi- 
dent of  the  power  of  habit  and  the  guidance  of 
"  the  inner  light,"  grew  careless  of  search  for 
God's  thought  through  His  Word,  and  of  tem- 

5* 


106  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

pering  tlie  spirit  and  conduct  by  fresh  divine 
influence  and  direction.  In  the  one  case,  in 
early  youth  a  grave  and  surprising  temptation 
overcame  all  the  habits  and  the  resolves  of 
piety  at  one  blow,  and  the  young  man  of  many 
hopes  and  of  much  self-confidence  fell  into  the 
grossest  sin.  He  remained  its  slave  for  ten 
years.  In  the  other  case,  the  declension  was 
gradual;  each  step  seemed  slight  by  the  time 
it  was  reached;  it  required  but  a  series  of 
temptations  little  out  of  the  ordinary  line  to 
break  down  the  barriers  of  virtue  one  by  one, 
and  to  swamp  in  the  basest  vice  a  life  that  had 
for  years  seemed  fair  and  full  of  promise,  and 
which  had  been  so  deemed  by  its  possessor. 
He,  too,  remained  in  bondage  for  years.  What 
these  two  men  endured  during  their  slavery, 
what  conscience  thrusts,  what  unmitigated 
shame ;  and  what  an  abhorrence  of  self  grew 
up  in  them,  —  no  mortal  can  tell.  Their  own 
narrations  were  painfully  suggestive,  but  evi- 
dently the  half  was  not  told. 

Both  A and  G lived  to  be  "  recov- 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.     107 

erecl  out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil,"  to  enter  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel,  although  late  in  life, 
and  to  give  some  years  of  self-denying  toil  to 
the  Master  whom  they  had  dishonored.  But 
they  had  "  pierced  themselves  through  with 
many  sorrows,"  whose  memory  never  left  them 
nor  ever  ceased  to  be  bitter ;  and  the  unsightly 
scars  remained. 

There  is  scarcely  a  doubt  that  the  full  an- 
nals of  Christian  experience,  in  our  own  land 
and  time  alone,  would  tell  of  thousands  who, 
through  neglecting  to  follow  the  Light  of  life, 
"  have  erred  from  the  faith  and  pierced  them- 
selves through." 

"  Nothing  but  leaves ! 

The  Spirit  grieves 

Over  a  wasted  Ufe, 
O'er  sins  committed  wlaile  conscience  slept. 
Promises  made,  but  never  kept,  — 

Folly,  and  sin,  and  shame. 
Nothing  but  leaves  !    Nothing  but  leaves  !  " 


IV. 

REPROVED  AND  RECALLED. 

"Be  not  conformed  to  this  world."  —  Rom.  xii.  2. 

"  Ye  are  all  the  children  of  Light  and  the  children  of  the 
day  ;  we  are  not  of  the  night,  nor  of  darkness.  Therefore  let 
us  not  sleep  as  do  others,  but  let  us  watch,  and  be  sober."  — 
1  Thess.  v.  5,  6. 

O  OME  object  to  the  denunciation  of  worldliness 
as  worldliness.     They   say  it  implies  an 
antagonism  between  the  world  and  Christ  which 
does  not  exist. 

In  modern  days,  there  has  arisen  a  new  philos- 
ophy of  Christian  duty  as  it  regards  "  the  world." 
Advocates  of  this  philosophy  select  as  their 
motto  the  half-verse,  "  In  the  world,"  entirely 
omitting  the  complementary  half,  "but  not  of 
the  world."  They  affect  the  phrases,  —  "  Chris- 
tian worldliness,"  "  practical  Christianity,"  "  the 
nobility  of  man,"  "  culture,"  "  the  tendencies  of 
the  times,"  "  the  best  modern  thought,"  "  the 
glory  of  the  nineteenth  century,"  "the  church 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.     109 

of  the  future."  Tliey  overpraise  the  moralist, 
and  depreciate  the  evangelist.  They  put  a 
slight  upon  the  requisition  of  church-member- 
ship, disparage  dogma  and  creeds,  and  merge 
faith  in  fidelity,  and  love  to  God  in  love  to  man. 
They  confound  Christian  worship  with  Christian 
work,  and  impute  both  to  some  men  who  never 
worship,  and  who  reject  Christ.  They  slight 
the  prophecies  whjlch  foretell  a  change  in  the 
present  order  of  things  through  great  convul- 
sions. They  tone  down  the  startling  statements, 
the  humbling  doctrines,  and  the  exacting  re- 
quirements of  the  Scriptures.  And,  in  general, 
they  endeavor  to  bridge  the  gulf,  to  close  the 
chasm,  and  to  effect  a  compromising  union  be- 
tween Christianity  and  "  the  world."  Then 
they  tell  us  that  tlii§  scheme  of  Christian  living 
is  'practicable  I —  The  offensive  implication  is 
evident. 

This  philosophy  undoubtedly  had  its  origin, 
as  has  every  plausible  error,  in  an  examination 
of  certain  facts ;  but  not  all  the  pertinent  facts 
were  viewed,  and  the  few  considered  were  be- 


110  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

held  in  other  light  than  that  which  the  Scrip- 
tures afford. 

It  is  a  fact  that  the  world  is  better  in  many  of 
its  appearances  and  its  acts  than  it  once  was, 
for  we  see  more  active  charity  (in  the  secondary 
sense  of  the  term),  and  a  habit  that  is  less 
grossly  rude  and  coarse,  than  the  olden  time 
disclosed.  It  is  also  true  that  unconverted  men 
are  not  always  wanting  in  amiable  feeling  and 
heroic  endeavor  ;  that  Holy  Writ  tells  of  a  com- 
ing day  of  universal  purity ;  and,  that  mean- 
while the  disciples  of  Christ  are  bidden  to  live 
and  work  among  men. 

But  there  are  other  facts  quite  as  pertinent 
and  quite  as  well  ascertained,  demanding  place 
in  the  induction  of  any  theory  of  Christian  duty. 
These  have  been  ignored ;  and  by  a  partial  in- 
duction, necessarily  erroneous,  these  modern 
theorists  assume  to  have  established  the  gen- 
eral principles,  —  that  "  the  world  "  itself  is,  or 
is  becoming  a  friend  to  Truth ;  that  its  native 
tendency  now,  is  upward ;  and  that  the  best 
evangelistic  work  will  not  henceforth  hold  up 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.     Ill 

the  church  as  something  apart  from  and  above 
"  the  world." 

There  is  an  unpleasant  significance  in  the 
fact  that  this  philosophy,  shorn  perhaps  of  its 
more  repulsive  features,  finds  wide  —  although 
happily,  not  general  —  acceptance  among  the 
churches. 

The  Scriptures  must  decide  this  matter.  What 
is  their  testimony  ? 

It  will  be  found  that  the  expressions  "  the 
world,"  "  this  world,"  and  "  this  present  world," 
are  convertible  terms,  used  widely  and  with  an 
unbroken  consistency  in  the  Scriptures,  in  what 
some  will  deem  a  technical  sense.  It  will  be- 
come evident  that  they  are  meant  to  character- 
ize an  entity,  a  spiritual  influence  and  force, 
which  is  at  'deadly  enmity  with  the  Saviour  of 
sinners. 

Some  passages  declare  this  enmity  :  — 

"The  world  cannot  hate  you,*  but  me  it  hateth, 
because  I  testify  of  it  that  the  works  thereof  are  evil" 

*  You,  —  the  brethren  of  Jesus  according  to  the  flesh ;  not 
his  disciples. 


112  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"If  the  world  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it  hated  me 
before  it  hated  you." 

"  And  the  world  hath  hated  them,  because  they  are 
not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am  not  of  the  world." 

"  Know  ye  not  that  the  friendship  of  the  world  is 
enmity  with  God  ?  " 

"  For  all  that  is  in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life,  is  not  of  the 
Father,  but  of  the  world." 

These  teachings  imply,  at  least,  that  the  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  are  to  expect  the  same  hostility 
which  it  is  declared  the  world  visits  -apon  Him  ; 
and  that,  while  evangelically  loving  men  and 
seeking  to  save  them  out  of  "  the  world,"  they 
are  not  to  strike  hands  in  unholy  friendship 
with  this  enemy.  Other  teachings  are  more 
explicit :  — 

"  And  we  have  received,  not  the  spirit  of  the  world, 
but  the  spirit  which  is  of  God." 

"  Therefore  the  world  knoweth  us  not,  because  it 
knew  Him  not." 

"  A  little  while,  and  the  world  seeth  me  no  more ; 
but  ye  see  me." 

"  If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  his 
own  ;  but  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I  have 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.     113 

chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the  world  hateth 
you." 

"  A  little  while,  and  the  world  shall  not  see  me ; 
...  ye  shall  weep  and  lament,  but  the  world  shall 
rejoice." 

"Do  ye  not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the 
world  ?  " 

"  But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the 
cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is 
crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world." 

^'-Know  ye  not  that  the  friendship  of  the  world  is  en- 
mity with  God'i  Whosoever  therefore  will  be  a  friend 
of  the  world  is  the  enemy  of  God  !  " 

"  Ye  are  of  God,  little  children.  .  .  .  They  are  of 
the  world." 

"  Love  not  the  world,  neither  the  things  of  the  world. 
If  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is 
not  in  him." 

"  Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  God  and  the 
Father,  is  this :  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in 
their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the 
world." 

"  Be  not  conformed  to  this  world  ;  but  be  ye  trans- 
formed by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that  ye  may 
prove  what  is  that  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect 
will  of  God." 


114  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"And  you  hath  He  quickened  who  were  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins,  wherein  in  time  past  ye  walked, 
according  to  the  course  of  this  world." 

"  For  Demas  hath  forsaken  us,  having  loved  this 
present  world." 

"...  who  gave  himself  for  us  that  He  might  re- 
deem us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a 
'peculiar  'people  zealous  of  good  works." 

"  But  ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood, 
a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people ;  that  ye  should  show 
forth  the  praises  of  Him  who  hath  called  you  out  of 
darkness  into  His  marvellous  light." 

"  Ye  are  all  the  children  of  Light  and  the  children 
of  the  day ;  we  are  not  of  the  night  nor  of  darkness. 
Therefore  let  us  not  sleep  as  do  others." 

"  Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked  with  unbelievers ;  .  .  . 
what  communion  hath  Light  with  darkness  ?  " 

"  The  Light  shineth  in  darkness." 

"  Let  us  therefore  cast  off  the  works  of  darkness, 
and  let  us  put  on  the  armor  of  Light." 

"  For  ye  were  sometime  darkness,  but  now  are  ye 
Light  in  the  Lord;  walk  as  children  of  Light.  .  .  . 
And  have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of 
darkness,  but  rather  reprove  them." 

In  order  to  make  the  contrast  and  the  duty 
more  evident,  the  Scriptures  vividly  portray  the 


MISTAKING  DARKNESS  FOR  LIGHT.     115 

ruin  and  degradation  of  "  this  world  "  as  such, 
and  distinctly  name  the  vicious  rule  which  holds 
it  subject :  — 

"  But  when  we  are  judged,  we  are  chastened  of  the 
Lord,  that  we  should  not  be  condemned  with  the  worldP 

"  And  we  know  that  we  are  of  God ;  and  the  whole 
world  lieth  in  the  wicked  one."  * 

"...  wherein  in  time  past  ye  walked,  according  to 
the  course  of  this  world ;  according  to  the  Prince  of 
the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the 
children  of  disobedience." 

"  The  god  of  this  world  hath  blinded  the  minds  of 
them  that  believe  not." 

"  And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  out,  that  old  ser- 
pent, called  the  DevU,  and  Satan,  which  deceiveth  the 
whole  world." 

"...  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world." 

"  For  the  Prince  of  this  world  cometh." 

"...  because  the  Prince  of  this  world  is  judged." 

There  is,  then,  an  antagonism  between  the 
spirit  of  "  this  world  "  and  the  spirit  of  Christ ; 
an  antagonism  not  accidental   and  temporary, 

*  "  Wiclced  one*'  for  "wickedness"  as  commonly  read. 
The  former  is  generally  conceded  to  be  the  correct  translation. 


116  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

but  essential ;  and  as  permanent,  at  least,  as  the 
need  of  Christians  for  New  Testament  instruc- 
tion. 

The  words  still  stand,  "ye  are  not  of  this 
world,"  "  they  are  not  of  this  world,  but  I  have 
chosen  them  out  of  the  world."  Christians  are 
called  to  be  "  a  holy  nation,"  "  a  peculiar  peo- 
ple ; "  to  be  followers  of  Christ,  not  of  men ;  to 
walk  in  the  Light,  not  in  darkness.  We  are 
surrounded  by  darkness,  by  unseen  foes.  Temp- 
tations beset  us  at  every  point  and  in  every 
form.  Pitfalls  abound.  It  is  easy  to  stumble. 
The  only  safety  lies  in  turning  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
suggestions  of  men  except  as  they  are  found, 
upon  inquiry,  to  express  the  commands  of  God  ; 
in  turning  from  all  guides  but  Jesus  Christ. 
There  can  be  no  substantial  or  abiding  peace, 
no  adequate  usefulness  until,  at  whatever  cost, 
the  whole  life  be  surrendered  to,  and  guided  by, 
the  requirements  of  the  Master  through  the 
utterances  of  His  Word. 


PART  THIRD. 


STANDING  IN   THE   LIGHT. 

(Christian  Knowledge.) 


My  people  are  destroyed  for  lack  of  knowledge.  —  Hos.  iv.  6. 


I.  Learning  to  see. 
II.  The  Fellowship  op  Light. 

III.  The  Secret  of  Light. 

IV.  The  Laws  of  Light. 


"  But  grow  in  grace  and  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  —  1  Pet.  iii.  18. 


I. 

LEARNING    TO    SEE. 
"The  entrance  of  thy  words  giveth  light." — Ps.  cxix.  130. 

/^NE  who  suddenly  emerges  from  great 
darkness  is  dazzled.  At  first  he  sees 
nothing  clearly.  He  does  not  know  at  what 
to  look :  all  objects  present  themselves  in  a 
confused  mass,  and  a  mist  seems  to  surround 
them  all. 

A  blind  man,  healed  by  the  Saviour,  said: 
"  I  see  men  as  trees  walking."  "  After  that 
He  put  His  hands  again  upon  his  eyes  and 
made  him  look  up ;  and  he  was  restored,  and 
saw  every  man  clearly." 

This  man  had  evidently  become  bhnd ;  he 
had  seen  before ;  otherwise  he  had  not  been  so 
ready  in  the  use  of  his  vision. 

A  young  girl,  blind  from  her  early  infancy, 
whose  sight  was  restored,  was  taken  to  her  own 
room  where  she  knew  every  article  familiarly 


120  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

by  touch.  There  the  bandages  were  taken 
from  her  eyes.  At  first  she  feared  to  move 
lest  she  should  run  against  some  object,  or  to 
raise  her  hand  lest  she  should  strike  it ;  every 
thing  seemed  so  near.  She  asked  the  name  of 
every  thing.  She  knew  nothing  by  sight.  She 
made  the  most  absurd  mistakes.  Her  knowl- 
edge before  had  been  the  defective  knowledge 
of  "  darkness,"  and  was  of  no  direct  avail  to 
her  "  in  the  light."  It  proved  of  indirect  use 
only,  as  she  opened  and  closed  her  ej^es  by 
turns,  using  the  touch  and  then  the  vision,  and 
comparing  results. 

The  young  Christian  encounters  a  similar 
difficulty.  The  two  cases  are  analogous  in 
every  detail  named.     For  — 

"  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature ; 
old  things  are  passed  away;  behold  all  thmgs  are 
become  new!" 

A  new  Light  shines.  A  new  radiance  rests 
on  the  commonest  duties  and  relationships 
of  life.  A  glow  suffuses  .the  whole  atmos- 
phere. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  121 

But  the  eye  does  not  discriminate  at  lirst. 
Objects  and  relationsliips  are  not  distinguished. 
The  paths  are  not  at  once  discerned.  The 
conditions  of  the  life  are  so  completely  changed, 
the  knowledge  is  to  be  gained  in  a  method  so 
utterly  new,  that  the  soul  is  tempted  either  to 
close  the  eyes  again  and  walk  "  by  touch,"  by 
past  habit,  or  to  shrink  back,  timorous  and 
confused. 

Every  thing  is  to  be  learned.  That  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  which  is  needed  for  practical 
guidance  is  not  inborn  :  it  must  be  acquired  by 
patient  process.  Immediately  following  the 
invitation  to  the  sinner,  "  Come  unto  me,  .  .  . 
and  I  will  give  you  rest,"  we  find  the  command 
to  the  young  believer,  "  Take  my  yoke  upon 
you  and  learn  of  me^  .  .  .  and  ye  shall  find  rest 
unto  your  souls." 

The  Christian  must  needs  learn  how  to  use 
the  Scriptures,  which  afford  the  light  that  is  to 
be  his  constant  guide.  He  must  learn  how  to 
procure  their  direction  most  advantageously; 
upon  questions  of  thought  about  God,  about  the 
6 


122  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

soul's  standing  in  His  sight,  about  men  and 
their  necessities  ;  and  upon  questions  of  opinion 
and  duty  in  general. 

Even  this  knowledge  cannot  be  acquired  at 
second  hand.  One  must  study  the  Scriptures  in 
order  to  learn  how  to  study  them.  "Practice 
makes  perfect."  One  learns  to  swim  only  in 
the  water.  The  disciple  must  go  straight  to 
the  Master. 

All  that  is  said  in  these  pages  is  designed  to 
stimulate  to,  and  to  aid  in,  this  study  of  God's 
word ;  not  to  supplant  it,  even  to  the  slightest 
extent. 

A  Christian  minister  once  said  of  "  The  Wit- 
ness," a  religious  periodical  published  by  the  late 
James  Inglis,  that  he  liked  it  because  it  always 
spurred  him  to  study  of  the  Word. 

After  a  prolonged  interview  between  two 
clergymen,  the  younger  said :  "  I  enjoyed  the 
interview.  I  never  before  heard  so  much  perti- 
nent quotation  from  the  Scriptures.  I  shall  go 
to  my  Bible  with  new  zest." 

This  is  the  true  aim  of  all  human  address,  to 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  123 

point  to  the  Light ;  that,  in  the  Light  and  using 
the  Light,  one  may  learn  to  use  it,  to  discern 
the  revelations  which  it  makes,  and  to  walk  in 
the  path  which  it  illumines. 


11. 

THE    FELLOWSHIP    OF    LIGHT. 

"  But  if  we  walk  in  the  Light,  as  He  is  in  the  light,  we  have 
fellowship  one  with  another."  *'  And  truly  our  fellowship  is 
with  the  Father,  and  His  Son  Jesus  Christ."  —  1  John  i.  3,  7. 

O  LIGHT  as  seems  the  act  by  which  the  man 
becomes  a  Christian,  he  by  it  leaps  an 
immeasurable  gulf.  The  contrast  between  his 
present  and  his  past  position  is  more  than  strik- 
ing :  it  is  startling ! 

"  Ye  were  sometime  darkness,  but  now  are  ye  light.''^ 
"  Ye  who  .  .  .  were  far  off,  are  made  nighr 
"  Ye  are  no  more  strangers,  hvit  fellow-citizens  of  the 
saints." 

"  He  that  believeth  not  is  condemned."     "  He  that 

believe  th  .  .  .  hath  life." 

"  And  you  who  were  dead  hath  He  quickened." 

"  He  that  .  .  .  believeth  ...  is  passed  from  death 

unto  life." 

The  common  notion  is,  that  the  Christian  is 
but  an  ordinary  man  with  a  slight  and  pleas- 
ing difference,  —  an  added  vague  and  uncertain 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  125 

hope,  an  added  feeble  motive,  and  some  small 
aids  to  a  better  life  and  a  purer  character. 

Those  whose  thought  is  on  so  low  a  plane 
will  not  experience  the  tlirill  which  these  in- 
junctions hold  concealed :  — 

"  I  therefore,  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord,  beseech  you 
that  ye  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye  are 
called." 

"...  That  ye  might  walk  worthy  of  the  Lord." 

"...  That  ye  should  walk  worthy  of  God,  who 
hath  called  you  into  His  kingdom  and  glory." 

A  rich  man  has  usually  but  small  temptation 
to  go  about  in  rags,  begging.  It  is  only  he  who 
supposes  that  he  has  received  but  the  petty  gift 
of  a  day's  food,  a  single  garment,  or  a  distant 
and  uncertain  promise  merely,  who  deems  him- 
self still  wretched  and  needy,  and  associates 
freely  with  the  lazzaroni.  The  Christian  whose 
conceptions  of  his  position,  companionships,  and 
prospects  are  low  and  degrading,  is  apt  to  con- 
form himself  to  the  world :  the  separation  seems 
scarcely  more  than  nominal,  and  the  descent  is 
easy  and  natural. 

The  common  talk  of  a  large  class  of  Christians 


126  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

is  full  of  lamentation.  The  best  they  can  say 
of  their  new  life  is,  that  it  is  subject  to  great 
vicissitudes.  They  seem  to  have  the  rare  and 
unenviable  faculty  of  extracting  gloom  from  the 
brightest  things,  —  from  the  Gospel  itself  with  all 
its  precious  promises  and  its  alluring  revelations. 
They  revel  in  "  the  tribulations,"  "  the  tempta- 
tions," "  the  dangers."  They  hug  their  doubts. 
They  even  seem  in  some  strange  way  to  enjoy 
their  distress !  They  shun  the  Light  as  if  they 
feared  it  would  hurt  them. 

This  is  a  mischievous  travesty  of  true  Chris- 
tian experience.  Christianity  was  designed  to 
make  men  glad.  The  annunciation  was  em- 
phatic :  "  Fear  not !  for  behold  I  bring  you 
glad  tidings  of  great  joy."  Our  Saviour's  path- 
way was  not  left  strewn  with  inconsolable  peni- 
tents, but  adorned  with  gladdened  hearts.  The 
returning  prodigal  was  welcomed  at  once  to  the 
arms  of  a  loving  father,  and  was  promptly 
crowned  with  the  joy  of  a  child  at  home  and  the 
honor  due  an  accepted  and  beloved  son.  And 
the  Scriptures  repeatedly  enjoin  Christians  to 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  127 

"praise  the  Lord,"  to  "be  glad  in  the  Lord,"  to 
"  rejoice  alway,"  and  to  "  joy  in  God." 

What,  less  than  this,  could  be  the  significance 
of  the  prophetic  words  appropriated  by  the 
Saviour  ?  — 

"  The  Lord  hath  appointed  me  to  preach  good  tid- 
ings unto  the  meek ;  He  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the 
broken-hearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives,  .  .  . 
to  appoint  unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion,  to  give  unto 
them  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the  garment  of  praise 
for  the  spirit  of  heaviness." 

It  is  only  a  distortion  or  a  neglect  of  the  Gos- 
pel that  can  make  the  condition  of  the  believer 
other  than  enviable :  the  gloomy  either  do  not 
know  the  promises,  or  they  put  dishonor  on 
them  and  make  "  God  a  liar." 

The  Scriptures  assure  the  Christian  that  he 
enjoys  a  position  of  rare  exaltation  and  security. 

1.  He  is  in  fellowship  with  the  saints: 
"Now  therefore  ye  are  no  more  strangers  and 
foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  of  the  saints  and 
of  the  household  of  God." 

There  is  an  equality  in  the  republic  of  grace. 


128  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

We  constitute  a  kingdom  only  as  Christ  is  King, 
—  "  and  we  shall  reign  with  Him  ! "  There  are 
no  titled  nobility  as  "  bulwarks  to  the  throne." 
The  humblest  believer  is  in  full  standing  in  the 

brotherhood.    Said  the  Rev.  Dr. to  a  young 

clergyman  who  held  him  in  high  esteem  and  was 
disposed  to  "  look  up  "  to  him  :  — 

"  Why  do  you  always  call  me  Doctor  ?  Why 
not  say  'Brother,'  sometimes  at  least,  that  we 
may  keep  in  mind  our  brotherhood  and  our 
equality  in  grace." 

Paul,  writing  to  the  churches,  addressed  him- 
self "  to  the  saints,"  "  to  the  saints  of  God."  His 
letters  betray  the  existence  of  evils  among  the 
people  to  whom  he  wrote,  akin  to  those  which 
disfigure  the  Christian  profession  to-day.  Some 
were  guilty  of  shameful  folly  even.  But  all  were 
"  saints :  "  no  discrimination  was  admissible. 

The  youngest,  the  feeblest,  the  most  wayward 
Christian  is  in  full  fellowship  with  the  house- 
hold of  God.  His  standing  before  God  is  in 
Jesus,  not  in  himself.  Only  "  by  the  blood  of 
Jesus  "  are  we  "  brought  nigh  "  and  redeemed 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT  129 

from  alienage.  In  Christ  all  must  stand  alike. 
"  Is  Christ  divided  ?  "  The  pitiful  attainments 
of  the  flesh,  even  Christian  growth  and  toil, 
avail  nothing  in  giving  us  standing  before  God. 
That  standing  is  a  gift ;  it  is  bestowed  once  for 
all,  and  fully,  upon  the  soul's  first  act  of  faith : 
"  Ye  are  complete  in  Him." 

The  promises,  precepts,  warnings,  counsels, 
names,  which  the  Scriptures  give  to  "  saints," 
are  for  all.  The  acceptance  of  Christ  puts  the 
soul  "  in  Him,"  where  are  all  the  saints,  and 
gives  to  each  the  fellowship  of  all  the  rest,  with 
aU  the  dignity  and  the  equality,  and  with  a  right 
to  all  the  sympathy,  implied  in  a  fellowship  so 
exalted  and  intimate. 

This  is  the  fellowship  of  saved  souls.  The 
Christian  is  saved !     His  destiny  is  secure. 

At  an  inquiry  meeting  a  young  man  was  thus 
addressed :  — 

"  May  I  ask  whether  you  are  saved  ?  " 

"  Saved !  I  cannot  say  that  I  am.  If  I  could, 
I  dare  say  I  should  not  be  here  to-night.  But, 
begging  your  pardon,  sir,  how  can  any  man  say 
6*  I 


130  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

he  is  saved  ?  Is  it  not  the  height  of  presumption 
to  say  so  ?  " 

How  so,  when  the  Scriptures  avow  the 
design  of  bringing  men  to  this  knowledge  ?  — 
"  These  things  have  I  written  unto  you  that 
beheve  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  that  ye 
may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  life."  The  pre- 
sumption is,  the  rather,  in  declining  to  be 
brought  to  this  knowledge,  in  doubting  God's 
word.     He  has  said  :  — 

"  He  that  beUeveth  on  the  Son  hath  life." 
"  He  that  heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  on  Him 
that  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  Hfe  and  shall  not  come 
into  condemnation ;  but  is  passed  from  death  unto  life." 
"  He  that  believeth  on  me  hath  everlasting  life.'* 

One  may  not  "  feel "  all  this  as  true  in  his 
case.  But  this  is  God's  testimony  ;  what  right 
has  man  to  indulge  his  "  thoughts "  or  to  cling 
to  his  "feelings,"  when  they  contradict  God's 
word?  Does  man  know  better  than  God?  — 
"  He  that  believeth  not  God  hath  made  Him  a 
liar  I"   ' 

A  gentleman  who  had  a  vinery  took  a  friend 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT  131 

who  called  upon  Mm  to  see  it.  The  sun  was 
very  strong,  and  the  place  was  very  hot.  His 
friend  remarked  upon  the  temperature,  and 
asked  if  it  were  not  heated  artificially.  He  was 
told  that  it  was  not.  On  coming  out  he  was 
observed  putting  down  his  hand  to  feel  the 
pipes !  This  was  making  his  friend  a  liar  ;  he 
insulted  him,  although  not  intentionally,  by  not 
believing  him  ;  and,  it  may  be  added,  by  rely- 
ing on  his  "  feelings "  as  against  his  friend's 
word,  where  that  word  was  designed  to  be  final 
testimony.* 

There  was  a  trace  of  excuse  for  this  unbelief: 
man  may  prove  false.  But  how  shall  we  doubt 
God  ?  His  statements  are  repeated  and  plain  : 
the  helieving  soul  is  saved. 

True,  the  Christian  stumbles.  He  is  weak. 
"  We  have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels." 
One  needs  daily  to  offer  the  prayer,  "  Forgive 
us  our  debts."     But  — 

"  If  we  confess  our  sins,  God  is  faithful  and  just  to 
forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unright- 
eousness." 

*  From  "  Life  and  Liglit." 


132  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"By  Him  all  that  believe  are  justified  ftom  all 
things.  ..." 

God  is  pledged.  He  will  be  faithful  to  His 
promises,  and  just  to  His  Son  —  in  whom  the 
believer  stands : — 

"Of  Him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  of  Grod  is 
made  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctifi- 
cation,  and  redemption." 

"  As  He  is  so  are  we  in  this  world." 
"  By  grace  are  ye  saved,  through  faith." 

After  the  sense  of  guilt,  comes  the  sense  of 
lust.  It  is  a  moment  of  keen  pain  and  of  a  hor- 
ror of  dread  when  the  Christian,  perhaps  after 
years  of  unsuspecting  ignorance,  awakes  to  the 
consciousness  of  powerful  indwelling  lust.  The 
unfathomed  chasm  of  iniquity  filled  with  un- 
named horrors  which  suddenly  opens  at  his  feet, 
and  especially  the  knowledge  that  he  cannot 
measure  his  depravity  or  fully  discover  the  pos- 
sibilities of  his  "carnal  mind"  in  crime,  may 
well  sink  the  soul  in  shame  and  wrap  it  up  in 
a  nameless  dread,  until  the  thought  of  Christ 
steal  in. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  133 

The  alarmed  believer  may  Avell  cry  out  with 
Paul :  "  O  wretched  man  that  I  am !  who  shall 
deliver  me  from  the  hody  of  this  death  ?  "  But, 
being  a  believer,  he  may  not  justly  fail  to  con- 
tinue with  the  apostle,  in  the  triumphant  burst 
of  assurance :  "  I  thank  God^  through  Jesus 
Christ  my  Lord ! "  Nor  should  he  decline  or 
neglect  to  continue  in  the  word  still  further,  to 
appropriate  the  sequence,  —  the  delightful  assur- 
ances of  the  passage  *  which  immediately  fol- 
lows ;  nor  should  he  cease  his  study  of  this  apt 
and  cheering  word,  though  he  ponder  it  once 
and  again  with  ear  attent  to  the  Master's  voice, 
until  the  closing  burst  of  exultation  seem  all  his 
own:  — 

"  What  shall  we  say  then  ?  If  God  be  for  us,  who 
can  be  against  us  ?  He  that  spared  not  His  own  Son, 
but  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  He  not 
with  Him  freely  give  us  all  things  ?  Who  shall  lay 
any  thing  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect !  It  is  God  that 
justifieth,  who  is  he  that  condemneth  !  Who  .  .  .  shall 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  Shall  tribula- 
tion, or  distress  .  .  .  ?  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we 
*  Romans  viii. 


134  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

are  more  than  conquerors  through  Him  that  loved  us. 
For  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor 
angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  pres- 
ent, nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any 
other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the 
love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

What  more  could  be  said !  Yet  this  is  God's 
testimony  to  every  believer. 

Many  Christians  fail  to  receive  this  testimony. 
Why  ?  The  light  is  too  dazzling  for  weak  eyes. 
The  news  seems  "  too  good  to  be  true." 

"It  is  said  that  Captain  Barclay  .  .  .  once 
laid  a  wager  of  .£500  with  another  gentleman, 
who  did  not  know  human  nature  so  well  as 
himself,  that  he  would  not  sell  twenty  sover- 
eigns in  an  hour  on  London  bridge  at  a  penny 
each.  The  coins  were  procured,  and  the  man 
to  sell  them.  He  stood  holding  one  up,  crying : 
'  Genuine  gold !  genuine  gold !  only  a  penny 
each.'  But  the  people  rushed  past  him,  either 
taking  no  heed,  or  laughing  at  him,  concluding 
it  must  be  a  dodge.  At  last,  within  a  few  min- 
utes of  the  expiration  of  the  hour,  a  humble 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  135 

working-man  passed  who  was  out  of  employment 
at  the  time.  He  stopped,  he  looked,  he  bought 
one  and  saw  that  it  was  indeed  genuine  gold. 
He  had  only  another  sixpence  in  his  pocket. 
He  bought  the  sixpence  worth,  and  ran  away 
to  get  more  money.  When  he  returned  the 
man  had  gone.  He  had  sold  only  the  seven. 
Why  ?  Because  '  a  sovereign  for  a  penny '  was 
too  good  news  to  be  true !  "  * 

God  gives  life  "  without  money  and  without 
price."  Few  take  it;  and  of  those  who  do,  few 
realize  the  greatness  or  even  the  reality  of  the 
gift. 

"  A  rich  man  in  England  lately  became  a 
Cliristian,  and  began  to  speak  to  others.  He 
thought  every  one  would  believe  him,  it  was  all 
so  clear  to  him ;  but  he  found  it  otherwise. 
Among  other  things  he  did  to  learn  human 
nature  and  the  principles  of  unbelief,  he  liired 
an  empty  house  in  a  town  and  put  up  placards 
to  the  effect  that  any  one  belonging  to  that 
town  who  was  in  debt  would  get  money  to  pay 

*  From  "  Life  and  Light." 


136  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

it  on  a  given  day  between  the  hours  of  nine  and 
ten.  The  people  laughed  and  called  it  a  hoax. 
At  half-past  nine  of  the  day  named,  a  poor  man 
crept  slowly  along  to  the  door.  On  entering 
and  learning  that  it  was  no  hoax,  he  told  all 
about  his  debts  and  got  money  to  pay  them.  A 
very  few  more  came,  all  small  debtors.  He  gave 
them  the  money,  amounting  only  to  X200  ;  but 
kept  them  all  until  ten  o'clock,  when  he  shut 
the  door  and  preached  Jesus  to  them.  He  then 
let  them  away.  The  news  soon  got  abroad.  A 
rush  was  made  upon  the  house  ;  but  '  the  door 
was  shut ! '     It  was  past  the  hour."  * 

It  is  marvellous  what  incredulity  men  dis- 
play in  the  presence  of  God's  repeated  and  dis- 
tinct assertions.  It  is  most  marvellous  that 
Christians,  who  have  ventured  upon  His  word, 
should  still  doubt  it.  Their  incredulity,  how- 
ever, does  not  change  the  facts :  it  serves  only 
to  mar  their  happiness,  to  paralyze  effort,  and  to 
put  dishonor  on  the  Cross. 

Two  ladies  entered  a  railway  car  together  at 

*  From  "Life  cand  Light." 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  137 

G ,  provided  with  tickets  for  the  city   of 

C .     Two    roads   cross   at  that  point,   four 

trains  set  out  in  as  many  different  directions  at 
about  the  same  time,  and  passengers  daily  board 
the  wrong  train.  The  ladies  were  in  doubt. 
The  conductor  entered,  wearing  his  badge. 

"  Is  this  the  train  for  C ?  " 

"Yes,"  was  the  reply,  prompt  and  distinct. 
The  train  soon  started.  The  tickets  were  col- 
lected. One  of  the  ladies  was  at  her  ease,  and 
evidently  enjoyed  the  travel.  The  other,  un- 
used to  journeys  and  suspicious  of  men,  was  in 
a  continual  fret.  She  reached  her  destination 
as  quickly  and  as  safely  as  the  other  !  But  the 
eight  hours  of  interval,  which  should  have  fur- 
nished enjoyment,  yielded  only  discomfort  to 
herself  and  annoyance  to  those  about  her. 

There  is  nothing  but  God's  word  to  rest  upon. 
That  word  assures  us  that  the  believing  soul  is 
saved.  Why  should  not  the  Christian  on  this 
testimony  know  his  security,  enjoy  his  heritage 
of  peace  and  gladness,  and  be  spurred  to  exer- 
tion? 


138  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

2.  Tliere  is  something  beyond  this,  however. 
The  believer  has  fellowship  with  the  Father, 
and  with  His  Son  Jesus  Christ :  — 

"  That  which  we  have  seen  and  heard  declare  we 
unto  you  that  ye  may  have  fellowship  with  us  ;  and 
truly  our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and  with  His 
Son  Jesus  Christ." 

The  returning  prodigal  thought  to  enter  his 
father's  home  as  a  servant :  he  was  welcomed 
and  honored  as  a  son.  The  believer  is  a  son 
of  God.  The  distinction  indicated  by  this  name 
is  not  merely  nominal :  it  is  vital :  — 

"  But  to  them  that  received  Him,  to  them  gave  He 
power  to  become  the  sons  of  God." 

"  Behold  what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  be- 
stowed upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called  the  sons  of 
God!" 

"  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God." 

This  sonship  is  not  by  adoption  alone :  it  is 
by  birth  also.  It  brings  with  it  all  the  privi- 
leges and  the  present  standing  which  this  fact 
suggests  ;  a  dignity,  a  wealth  of  privilege,  which 
it  staggers  the  Christian  to  contemplate  as  his 
own  —  his  own  now  :  — 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  139 

"...  to  them  gave  He  power  to  become  the  sons 
of  God,  which  were  born  ...  of  God." 

"I  am  dead;  nevertheless  I  live;  yet  not  I,  but 
Christ  liveth  in  me." 

"...  whereby  are  given  unto  us  exceeding  great 
and  precious  promises,  that  by  them  ye  might  be  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature." 

"  For  both  He  that  sanctifieth  and  they  which  are 
sanctified  are  all  of  One ;  for  which  cause  He  is  not 
ashamed  to  call  them  brethren." 

Hence  the  Christian  is  a  brother  of  Jesus 
"in  full  blood,"  "begotten  of  God"  by  the 
same  Spirit  and  partaking  of  the  same  nature. 
Thus  he  is  an  heir  of  God :  — 

"  And  if  children,  then  heirs  ;  heirs  of  God,  joint- 
heirs  with  Christ ;  if  so  be  that  we  suffer  with  Him, 
that  we  may  be  also  glorified  together.''* 

It  is  thus  that  it  becomes  literally  true,  as 
the  Scriptiu'es  assert,  that :  — 

"  Our  citizenship  *  is  in  heaven." 
"  God  .  .  .  hath  .  .  .  made  us  sit  together  in  heav- 
enly places  in  Christ  Jesus." 

*  Pliil.  iii.  20.  This  is  conceded  to  be  the  correct  trans- 
lation. 


140  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"  Here  we  have  no  continuing  city,  but  we  seek  one 
to  come." 

The  Christian  is  a  pilgrim  here.  His  home 
is  in  heaven.  It  is  there  his  Saviour  dwells, 
in  whom  he  stands,  who  is  his  Life.  There 
Christ  maintains  his  place  until  He  shall  pre- 
sent him  faultless  before  the  Father.  While 
he  dwells  on  earth  absent  from  home,  ham- 
pered by  indwelling  sin,  walking  by  faith, 
seeing  "through  a  glass  darkly,"  often  forget- 
ting and  often  falling,  his  place  is  kept.  It  is 
written :  — 

"These  things  write  I  unto  you  that  ye  sin  not; 
and  if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  Advocate  with  the 
Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous." 

He  guarantees  the  eternal  inheritance  prom- 
ised. In  Him  it  is  already  conveyed !  It  be- 
longs to  the  Christian ;  the  title  is  in  his  pos- 
session, in  the  promises  of  the  Word ;  the  token 
of  transfer  is  the  blood ;  there  is  no  condition 
attached  save  that  already  fulfilled,  —  the  soul's 
acceptance  of  Christ.  Nothing  can  occur  to 
wrest  this  inheritance  from  him.     The  guaran- 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  141 

tee  is  not  in  tlie  firmness  and  persistence  of  the 
soul's  hold  on  Christ,  but  in  the  tenacity  of  His 
grasp  upon  His  saints:  — 

"  I  know  my  sheep  .  .  .  ;  and  they  shall  never  per- 
ish ;  neither  shall  any  man  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand. 
My  Father  which  gave  them  me  is  greater  than  all, 
and  no  man  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my  Father's 
hand." 

"  Those  whom  thou  hast  given  me  I  have  kept ;  and 
none  of  them  is  lost ;  ^  but  the  son  of  perdition  [is 
lost],  that  the  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled." 

A  young  man  once  greeted  a  clergyman  with 
tliis  boast :  "  I  am  a  happy  man.  I  am  safe.  I 
have  hold  of  the  Cross  with  hotJi  hands  !  And  I 
am  not  going  to  let  go."  "What  if  Satan  should 
cut  off  your  hands!"  was  the  discriminating 
reply.  The  boaster  was  staggered.  He  had 
had  faith  in  his  faith,  not  faith  in  Christ.  He 
is  not  now  numbered  among  Christians.  Paul's 
statement  is :  — 

*  This  seems  to  be  the  more  correct  punctuation.  "  But " 
(et  /ii^),  as  here  used,  sets  q/T'what  follows  in  a  new  category. 
See  Luke  iv.  25-27;  there  the  widow  of  Sidon,  is  set  off  by 
"save"  (et  /i^)  from  "many  widows  ...  in  Israel;"  and 
Naaman  the  Syrian,  by  "saving"  {el  fi-fi  again)  from  "many 
lepers  ...  in  Israel."   There  is  a  contrast  in  each  case. 


142  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

*'  I  follow  after,  if  that  I  may  apprehend  *  that  for 
which  also  I  am  apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus." 

"  For  ye  are  dead  ;  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ 
in  God." 

Our  redemption  is  in  Christ  —  is  Christ. 
"  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life."  "  For  He  ^s 
your  life."  This  is  not  manifest,  visible,  although 
true ;  but,  "  When  He  who  is  your  Life  shall 
appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear  with  Him  in 
glory."  The  Christian  is  in  Christ  now ;  he 
shall  so  "  appear  "  then.  The  fact  is  present ; 
only  its  manifestation  tarries.  If  the  Christian 
walk  by  sight,  he  realizes  nothing  of  this  glory ; 
but  "  we  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight !  "  We 
know,  now. 

Thus  "  looking  "  out  of  self,  away  from  men 
and  "  unto  Jesus,"  the  Christian  learns  that,  in 
Sim^  his  fellowship  is  and  shall  ever  be  "  with 
the  Father  and  His  Son  Jesus  Christ."  It  is 
thus  that  God  has  done  for  the  believer  the 
identical  thing  prayed  for  by  a  Christian  in 
France :  — 

*  Apprehend,  take  hold  of;  apprehended  of,  taken  hold  of  by. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  143 

"  Lord,  save  me  from  myself, 
And  save  me  in  spite  of  myself, 
And  take  me  out  of  myself, 
For  Jesus  Christ's  sake.    Amen." 

The  Clmstian's  "walk"  may  be  far  below 
this  dignity.  It  is  always  needful  to  pray,  as 
we  sing :  — 

"  Nearer,  ray  God,  to  thee." 

The  explicit  injunction  of  the  Word  is :  "I 
beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  that  ye  walk 
worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye  are  called." 
And  Paul  thus  names  his  own  effort :  "I press 
toiuard  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling 
of  God  in  Christ  Jesus." 

This  endeavor  must  be  made,  with  exertion 
constant  and  unflagging.  To  it  Christians  are 
everywhere  incited.  It  is  designed  to  supply 
the  needed  motive,  the  motive  of  self-respect  at 
least,  by  revealing  this  high  calling  and  this 
matchless  companionship.  It  is  because  Chris- 
tians are  "  the  children  of  Light  "  that  they  are 
exhorted :  "  Walk  as  cliildren  of  Light."  The 
"  being "  precedes  the  walk,  and  is  not  im- 
peached by  a  thousand  failures  in  the  attempt. 


144  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"  For  ye  were  sometime  darkness,  but  now  are  ye 
light  in  the  Lord;  [therefore]  walk  as  children  of 
Light." 

The  transition  is  already  made.  Behold  the 
present,  then  look  back  upon  the  past.  Behold 
the  sinner,  then  look  upon  the  Christian :  — 

"  A  yawning  gulf  spreads  out  between  !  " 

3.  The  Christian  has  fellowship  also  with  the 
Holy  Ghost :  — 

"  If  there  be  therefore  any  consolation  in  Christ, 
if  any  comfort  of  love,  if  any  fellowship  of  the 
Spirit.  .  .  ." 

"  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  love  of 
God,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  with 
you  all.     Amen." 

"  For  He  dwelleth  with  you  and  shall  be  in  you." 

"  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you  ?  " 

"  Now  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ  he  is 
none  of  His." 

Had  not  the  Spirit  entered  the  heart,  not  one 
passage  of  Scripture  had  thrown  its  light  upon 
the  believer's  path.     Until  He  come,  — 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  145 

"...  the  god  of  this  world  hath  blinded  the 
minds  of  them  that  believe  not,  lest  the  light  of  the 
glorious  gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God, 
should  shine  unto  them." 

God's  word  concerning  all  spiritual  move- 
ment, whether  toward  the  truth  or  in  the  truth, 
is  that  it  is  "  not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but 
by  my  Spirit."  The  soul  was  dead ;  it  is  now 
alive :  "  You  who  were  dead  hath  He  quick- 
ened." He  who  accepts  Christ  does  so  through 
the  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  "  To  them 
gave  he  power  to  believe  .  .  .  which  were  born 
...  of  God."  And  the  same  testimony  as- 
sures us  that  where  He  takes  up  His  abode, 
there  He  remains:  "...  the  Holy  Spmt  of 
God  whereby  ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of 
redemption." 

The  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  soul 
is  the  earnest  of  redemption  :  — 

"  In  whom,  also,  after  that  ye  believed,  ye  were 
sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the 
earnest  of  our  inheritance  until  the  redemption  of  the 
purchased  possession." 

7  J 


146  THE   CHILDREN  OE  LIGHT. 

"  Who  also  hath  given  unto  us  the  earnest  of  the 
Spirit.     Wherefore  we  are  always  confident  ..." 

"  Who  hath  also  sealed  us  and  given  us  the  earnest 
of  the  Spirit  in  our  hearts." 

"  Earnest  "  is  foretaste.  The  day  of  redemp- 
tion will  bring  the  full  realization  of  Christ: 
"  We  know  that  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall 
be  like  Him."  This  is  the  essential  feature  of  fu- 
ture bliss  ;  the  character,  not  the  surroundings : 
"  I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  with  thy 
likeness."  Of  this  bliss  the  present  Spirit  is  the 
foretaste ;  by  Him  Christ  now  liveth  in  us  and 
something  of  heavenly  felicity  is  experienced.  As 
His  operations  proceed,  the  "  earnest "  becomes 
more  patent  to  the  soul:  as  by  Him  the  soul 
appropriates  more  of  Christ  and  lives  by  faith 
more  fully,  the  foretaste  imperceptibly  changes 
into  a  constant  feast.  T^iis  is  feeding  on  Christ. 
The  Spirit  conducts  this  work;  so  He  is  the 
earnest,  affords  the  foretaste,  of  the  heavenly 
realization.  "Earnest"  is  not  "token,"  to  be 
examined,  Watts'  hymn  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding — 

"...  descend  and  bring  some  token  of  thy  grace." 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT  147 

The  Spirit  is  unseen  of  man.  His  presence  is 
not  to  be  detected  by  probing  the  heart  in 
search  for  Him.  He  worketh  where  He  listeth, 
and  His  footsteps  —  like  the  origin  and  destiny 
of  the  wind  —  are  beyond  the  reach  of  our  dis- 
coveries. We  know  His  presence,  first  and 
chiefly,  by  God's  testimony  through  the  Word ; 
then,  also,  by  its  fruits  in  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  like. 

"  For  we  have  not  received  the  Spirit  of  bondage 
again  to  fear,  but  we  have  received  the  Spirit  of  adop- 
tion, whereby  we  cry  Abba,^  Father.  For  the  Spirit 
itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  the 
children  of  God." 

This  "  witness  "  does  not  find  utterance  by 
soliloquy  of  the  heart,  but  by  the  voice  of 
Scripture  quickened  by  the  Spirit  and  spoken 
in  the   heart.     This   is   no   "token,"  no  inner 

*  Abba,  a  Syriac  word  for  "  father,"  said  to  be  a  term  of 
familiarity  and  endearment.  By  the  Spirit  we  come  to  know 
God  familiarly,  as  our  Father,  "  Abba." 

Tlie  child  familiarly  says  "  papa,"  rather  than  "  father."  Is 
there  not  a  significance  in  the  similarity  of  the  two  words 


148  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

feeling,  but  the  junction  of  the  heart  and  the 
word  of  promise  in  sympathetic  union.  The 
"  witness "  appears,  or  is  heard,  only  as  the 
Word  is  employed. 

The  ability  to  grasp  but  a  single  promise, 
however  feebly ;  even  the  recognition  of  the 
law  and  its  condemnation  —  though  every  prom- 
ise seem  to  take  wing  —  is  proof  that  the  Spirit 
is  at  work  upon  the  soul.  No  "  token "  is 
needed  to  supplement  this  testimony. 

When,  in  a  crowd,  one  is  impelled  further, 
faster,  or  in  another  direction,  than  he  had  in- 
tended going  or  had  before  been  able  to  go,  it 
is  evident  that  some  one  has  given  him  a  push, 
even  though  the  actor  be  not  discovered  nor 
the  distinct  impress  of  his  hand  felt. 

On  God's  testimony,  then,  the  believer  is 
assured  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  now  and  hence- 
forth his  constant  and  most  intimate  companion, 
dwelling  in  him  and  able  to  work  by  night  and 
by  day  for  his  advancement  and  his  comfort  in 
the  divine  life.  Upon  this  fact  is  based  the 
exhortation :  — 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  149 

"  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  ye 
are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption." 

The  word  is  not,  "Grieve  Him  not  away." 
He  will  not  go!  although  some  strangely  fear 
He  may."  "...  sealed  unto  the  day  of  re- 
demption" is  the  word:  the  seal  cannot  be 
removed.  Sin  may  obscure  the  Presence,  but 
cannot  banish  it. 

"  Grieve  Him  not ;"  as  if  it  were  said :  He  is 
your  companion,  your  helper,  your  friend  ;  do 
not  grieve  him  by  sin,  by  turning  a  deaf  ear  to 
the  Word,  by  plunging  into  the  companionships 
of  vice,  by  compelling  Him  as  your  constant 
companion  to  go  into  the  midst  of  uncongenial 
scenes  and  unfriendly  associations,  by  filling 
your  soul  —  where  He  has  His  seat  —  with  lust- 
ful thoughts  and  carnal  desires. 

This  companionship  may  prove  a  source  of 
delight.  It  will  lend  a  glow  to  the  Scriptures. 
It  will  fit  the  soul  for  the  profitable  use  of  the 
ordinances  of  God's  house.  It  will  yield  pleas- 
ure through  the  fellowship  of  the  brethren.  It 
will  suggest  agreeable  and  profitable   medita- 


150  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

tions,  stimulate  the  soul  in  its  aspirationSj  lend 
vigor  to  the  warnings  of  conscience  upon  the 
approach  of  sin,  and  keep  the  judgment  clear  in 
deciding  questions  of  duty.  In  general,  it  Avill 
lead  the  soid  away  from  sin  and  develop  the 
budding  divine  life,  ministering  to  it  the  joy  of 
the  sweetest,  most  congenial,  most  profitable, 
most  intimate,  most  constant  fellowship  possible, 
—  the  fellowsliip  of  the  saints  and  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  of  which  the 
Spirit  is  the  sole  Agent. 

"I've  found  a  joy  in  sorrow, 

A  secret  balm  for  pain  ; 
A  beautiful  to-morrow 

Of  sunshine,  after  rain  ; 
I've  found  a  branch  of  heahng 

Near  every  bitter  spring ; 
A  whispered  promise,  stealing 

O'er  every  broken  string ! 


'  My  Saviour  !  thee  possessing, 

We  have  the  joy,  the- balm  ; 
The  healing  and  the  blessing. 

The  sunshine  and  the  psalm  ; 
The  promise  for  the  fearful, 

The  Elim  for  the  faint. 
The  rainbow  for  the  tearful. 

The  glorij  for  the  saint ! " 


III. 

THE   SECRET  OF  LIGHT. 

"  The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  Him.** 
Ps.  XXV.  14. 

npiIERE  is  a  little  lake,  nestled  among  the 
hills,  whose  bosom  is  always  placid  and 
whose  waters  are  always  clear,  which  yet  has 
no  visible  source  of  supply.  It  is  fed  by  hid- 
den streams. 

There  is  a  river  in  one  of  our  Western  States 
whose  waters  until  recently  were  singularly 
pure,  whose  volume  varied  comparatively  little 
throughout  the  year,  and  whose  temperature, 
even,  seemed  in  some  degree  exempt  from  the 
influences  of  the  seasons.  To  an  extent  not 
easily  ascertained,  it  is  supplied  by  springs  from 
the  rocks  beneath.  It  is  not  inappropriately 
named  Roch  River.  Latterly  Art  has  wrought 
vast  disturbance  with  Nature  ;  the  hand  of  man 
in  agriculture  and  manufactures  has  brought  a 


152  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

change  and  a  contamination ;  yet  the  peculiar 
features  indicated,  although  less  marked,  are 
still  to  be  observed. 

Nature  lacks  reinforcement  by  fresh  creative 
acts  ;  yet  even  here  there  is  a  concealed  power 
which  retains  sway  amid  the  imported  disturb- 
ances of  human  life.  How  much  more  shall 
Grace,  daily  reinforced  from  above,  through 
secret  channels,  bear  rule  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  absorbing  care ! 

The  Psalmist  says :  "  There  is  a  river  the 
streams  whereof  shall  make  glad  the  city  of 
God ; "  and  a  judicious  commentator  *  thus  anno- 
tates :  "  The  streams  of  spiritual  blessings  flow- 
ing from  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  make  glad 
the  city  of  God  continually."  The  apostle, 
speaking  of  the  fathers,  says  "  they  did  all  eat 
the  same  spiritual  meat  and  did  all  drink  the 
same  spiritual  drink  ;  for  they  drank  of  that 
spiritual  Rock  which  followed  them ;  and  that 
Rock  was  Christ." 

The  Christian  life   depends  upon   a  hidden 

*  Eev.  W.  S.  Plumer,  D.D. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  153 

source  of  supply.  There  is  a  secret  in  it.  There 
is  a  mystical  union  between  the  risen  Christ  in 
heaven,  and  the  believer  on  earth.  His  prayer 
for  us  was,  and  is  :  "  That  they  all  may  be  one  ; 
as  thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that 
they  also  may  be  one  in  us."  Elsewhere  He 
says  :  "  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  .  .  . 
Abide  in  me.  As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit 
of  itself  except  it  abide  in  the  vine,  no  more 
can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in  me.  .  .  .  He  that 
abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth 
forth  much  fi'uit;  for  without  me  ye  can  do 
nothing." 

"  The  secret  of  holy  living  lies  in  this  doctrine  of  the 
union  of  the  believer  with  Christ.  This  is  not  only 
the  ground  of  his  hope  of  pardon,  but  the  source  of  the 
strength  whereby  he  dies  unto  sin  and  lives  unto  right- 
eousness. It  is  by  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  Christ 
that  he  is  strengthened  with  might  in  the  inner  man, 
and  is  enabled  to  comprehend  the  breadth  and  length 
and  depth  and  height  of  the  mystery  of  redemption, 
and  to  know  the  love  of  God  which  passeth  knowl- 
edge, and  is  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God.  It  is 
this  doctrine  which  sustains  him  under  all  his  trials, 


154     ■       THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

and  enables  him  to  triumph  over  all  his  enemies,  for 
it  is  not  he  that  lives,  but  Christ  that  lives  in  him,  giv- 
ing him  grace  sufficient  for  his  day,  and  purifying  him 
unto  Himself  as  one  of  His  peculiar  people  zealous  of 
good  works. 

"  As  union  with  Christ  is  the  source  of  spiritual  life, 
the  means  by  which  that  life  is  maintained  and  pro- 
moted are  all  related  to  this  doctrine  and  derive  from 
it  their  efficacy."  * 

It  is  surely  a  delightful  thiug  that  the  soul 
has  its  secret  with  the  Lord,  is  in  His  secret 
counsels,  is  permitted  to  approach  Him  in  secret, 
and  hides  in  secret  all  the  operations  of  the 
inner  life,  —  its  flow  to  and  through  the  soul. 
The  nearness  of  approach,  the  intimacy,  the 
sacred  friendship  and  fellowship   which   these 

*  Dr.  Charles  Hodge  in  "  The  Way  of  Life."  If  it  may 
be  permitted  to  venture  upon  a  modification  of  the  language 
employed  by  one  so  learned  and  usually  so  accurate,  let  it  be 
suggested  that  the  form  is  put  for  the  fact  wherever  the  word 
"  doctrine  "  is  used  in  the  passage  quoted.  The  doctrine,  the 
teaching,  is  valuable ;  but  "  the  secret  of  holy  living  lies " 
not  in  the  "  doctrine,"  but  in  the  fact  of  the  believers'  union 
with  Christ.  And  so  elsewhere.  It  is  this  use  of  the  word 
"  doctrine "  which  leads  some  men  to  say  we  make  creeds 
every  thing.  Dr.  Hodge  puts  it  right  when  he  says :  "  As 
union  with  Christ  is  the  source,"  &c. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  155 

facts  suggest,  are  fitted  to  bathe  tlie  soul  in 
pleasure,  in  sweet  humility  in  view  of  its  exalta- 
tion, and  in  the  baptism  of  holy  love. 

"The   secret   of   the    Lord  is  with  them  that  fear 

Him." 

"  His  secret  is  with  the  righteous." 

"  Enter  into    thy   closet,  and  pray  to   thy   Father 

which  is  in  secret." 

"  In  the  secret  of  His  tabernacle  shall  He  hide  me." 

"  He  revealeth  His  secrets  unto  His  servants." 

"  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants  ;  for  the  servant 

knoweth  not  what  his  lord  cloeth  :  but  I  have  called 

you  friends  ;  for  all  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my 

Father  I  have  made  known  unto  you." 

The  second  chapter  of  Paul's  first  letter  to 
the  Corinthians  is  devoted  entirely  to  this 
pleasing  subject :  — 

"  Howbeit  we  speak  wisdom  among  them  that  are 
perfect ;  yet  not  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  nor  of  the 
princes  of  this  world,  that  come  to  nought :  but  we 
speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  even  the  hid- 
den wisdom,  which  God  ordained  before  the  world 
unto  our  glory;  which  none  of  the  princes  of  this 
world  knew ;  ...  as  it  is  written,  Eye  hath  not  seen, 
nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  oj 


156  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them 
that  love  Him.  But  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us 
by  His  Spirit;  .  .  .  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no 
man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God.  Now  we  have  received 
,  .  .  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  that  we  might  know  the  things 
that  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God ;  ...  we  have  the 
mind  of  Christ." 

Surely  here,  standing  in  the  light,  there 
opens  before  the  eyes  a  vista  of  pleasant  things 
rich  in  promise  —  nay  in  the  fruition  —  of 
sweetness,  strength,  and  comfort.  The  hum- 
blest believer  is  rich,  in  Christ.  .  He  hath  Christ. 
A  secret  channel  of  communication  conducts 
his  thoughts  away  to  the  ear  of  his  listening 
Lord,  and  brings  back  His  thoughts  to  enrich 
the  soul.  Prayer  carries  the  soul's  thought  up : 
the  Scriptures  bear  Christ's  thought  back.  Men 
may  hear  the  prayer,  but  they  little  know  the 
secret  thought  it  conveys.  Men  read  the  Bible  ; 
but  only  the  believing  heart  receives  the  pecu- 
liar messages  it  brings.     All  is  secret. 

This  "  subterranean  channel "  is  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  agent  of  God  in  imparting  the  divine 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  157 

life  to  the  soul  and  in  reinforcing  it  there  ;  and 
the  agent  of  the  soul  in  seeking  God's  face, 
whether  by  prayer,  by  praise,  or  by  any  other 
means  of  grace  which  he  may  employ.  The 
Spirit  of  God  is  with  God,  is  God  ;  He  also 
dwells  in  man ;  and  so  He  sweetly,  subtly,  and 
effectually  binds  the  two  in  One,  not  by  exter- 
nal bonds,  but  in  a  living  union  like  that  which 
unites  the  branch  to  the  vine  ;  a  union  of  such 
a  nature  that  the  streams  of  desire  and  of  sup- 
ply flow  through  it,  back  and  forth,  —  like  the 
blood  through  the  veins  and  arteries,  —  unre- 
vealed  to  the  gaze  of  men  and  unliindered  by 
the  foes  of  the  soul. 

It  is  t}iu8  that  the  believer  has  a  present  and 
fruitfid  fellowship  in  heavenly  places,  "with 
the  Father,  and  with  His  Son  Jesus  Christ :  " 
"  He  shall  receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it 
imto  you." 

It  is  thus  that  Christ  executes  His  guarantee, 
keeping  the  soul  that  has  committed  itself  to 
Him.  He  dwells  within  the  heart  by  faith, 
through  His  Spirit. 


158  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

It  is  thus  that  our  destiny  is  linked  in  eternal 
and  vital  union  with  that  of  Clirist ;  it  is  thus 
that  we  are  now  linked  with  Him  in  glory, 
although  we  daily  trail  our  robes  in  the  mire ; 
with  His  safety,  although  we  are  surrounded  by 
perils  ;  with  His  acceptance  in  the  Father's  pres- 
ence, although  we  often  sin ;  with  His  glorious 
manhood,  although  we  are  foolish  and  frail :  "  As 
He  is,  so  are  we  in  this  world."  Whatever  He 
is,  we  are.  His  suffering  for  sin  is  ours :  our 
hell  is  past,  eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  His 
holy  life  is  ours :  our  heaven  was  jjurchased 
in  Him.,  by  good  works,  centuries  since.  His 
purity  of  character  is  ours ;  now  begun  in  us, 
and  soon  to  be  perfected  there  :  "  For  we  know 
that  when  He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like 
Him."  For  He  is  now  "  made  unto  us  wisdom, 
and  righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption." In  a  word,  it  is  thus  that  "he  that 
hath  the  Son  hath  life." 

"  My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  His." 
"  And   this   is  eternal  life,  that  they  might  know 
thee,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent." 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  159 

Upon  this  account  comes  the  protection 
vouchsafed  the  Christian.  Can  disaster  befall 
the  glorified  Son  of  God?  How,  then,  can 
harm  come  to  the  discii)le  who  is  one  with 
Him  ?  "  The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day, 
nor  the  moon  by  night." 

The  poet  Virgil  gives  a  pleasing  and  sugges- 
tive fiction.  He  tells  us  how  Venus,  desiring 
to  protect  ^neas  and  his  company,  "  so  that  no 
one  might  see  them,  stop  them,  or  make  them 
give  account  of  their  goings,"  threw  around 
them  a  cloud  of  such  peculiar  texture  that  they 
were  enabled  to  Valk  the  streets  of  Carthage 
unseen  and  unmolested.  This  fiction  becomes 
substantially  a  fact  in  the  experience  of  every 
believer.     For :  — 

"  As  the  mountains  are  round  about  Jerusalem,  so 
the  Lord  is  round  about  His  people  from  henceforth, 
even  for  ever." 

"  The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation  ;  whom 
shall  I  fear  ?  The  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  life ;  of 
whom  shall  I  be  afraid  ?  " 

"  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd :  I  shall  not  want." 


160  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"  T  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  to  the  hills  from  whence 
Cometh  my  help.  My  help  cometh  from  the  Lord, 
which  made  heaven  and  earth." 

"They  that  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be  as  Mount 
Zion,  which  cannot  be  removed,  but  abideth  for  ever." 

It  is  this  sacred  union,  moreover,  that  under- 
lies and  gives  force  to  the  law,  "  Ask  and  ye 
shall  receive."  For  the  promise  is :  "  If  ye  abide 
in  me,  and  my  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask 
what  ye  will  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you." 

Can  the  hand  need  succor  and  the  brain  not 
know  ?  or,  knowing,  shall  it  fail  to  devise  help 
and  healing?  As  quickly  as  the  nerve-current 
carries  the  message  of  pain  to  the  nerve-centre, 
does  the  uniting  Spirit  carry  the  soul's  thrill  and 
cry  of  distress  to  the  Master.  The  union  is  per- 
fect and  complete.   One  needs  but  ask,  to  receive. 

There  is  almost  no  limit  to  the  resources  thus 
placed  in  our  hands :  Christians  may  use  them 
feebly  and  intermittently,  or  moderately  and 
steadily,  or  largely  and  constantly.  A  few  have 
dared  "  to  take  God  at  His  word "  and  base 
their  lives  entirely  on  this  divine  law  of  supply 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  161 

and  demand.  George  Miiller  is  perhaps  the 
most  notable  of  these  persons.  They  seem 
fanatical.  Who  shall  say  that  they  have  ex- 
ceeded the  provisions  of  grace  ?  At  the  least 
they  have  been  sustained. 

And  there  are  many  who,  in  the  conduct  of 
their  ordinary  business,  endeavor  to  lay  all 
their  affairs  before  the  Lord,  and  to  act  only 
upon  His  direction  and  with  the  means  He  puts 
in  their  hands. 

In  a  word,  "  the  secret  of  the  Lord  "  inspires 

the  soul  to 

Peayeh  ! 

It  is  by  prayer  that  the  fruits  of  this  secret 
become  immediately  available.  There  are  other 
methods  of  contact,  but  prayer  must  vitalize 
them  all,  —  even  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures 
must  be  with  prayer  for  the  aid  of  the  illuminat- 
ing Spirit. 

Were  it  possible  that  the  believer  should  not 
pray  and  yet  be  a  believer,  he  would  still  have 
this  wealth  at  his  command  indeed,  but  it  would 
lie  unused  imtil  the  Master  shoidd  come,  con- 


162  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

tract  the  elastic  cord  that  binds  them  together, 
and  present  him  perfected  before  the  Father  to 
enjoy  in  person  the  full  fruits  of  redemption. 
This,  in  fact,  is  what  happens  in  some  degree  to 
all,  and  almost  entirely  to  many,  because  of  the 
neglect  of  prayer.  They  are  rich,  yet  they  live 
like  beggars !  To  whatever  extent  the  neglect 
is  permitted,  so  far  these  fruits  are  left  to  lie 
unused. 

Many  suppose  that  the  law,  "  we  are  saved  by 
hope,  "  is  exclusive  in  the  domain  of  Christian 
privilege ;  that  all  joy,  all  growth,  all  knowl- 
edge, are  delayed  until  the  hope  shall  reach  full 
fruition  at  the  Master's  coming.  There  is, 
however,  another  law,  the  law  of  faith.  We 
are  saved  by  faith.  Somewhat  is  indeed  left  to 
hope  ;  all  the  grandeur  and  glory  of  manifesta- 
tion await  its  fulfilment.  But  realization  attends 
faith.     For :  — 

"Faith  is  the  substance  [realization*]  of  things 
hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen." 

*  Substance.  "  It  seems  to  me  that  the  word  here  has  refer- 
ence to  something  that  imports  reality,  in  the  view  of  the  mind,  to 
those  things  that  are  not  seen  ..."  Barnes. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  163 

And  Paiil  says  :  — 

"  The  life  Inoio  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by  the  faith 
of  the  Son  of  God." 

Now  prayer  is  the  appropriating  act  of  faitli. 
Prayer  "realizes,"  brings  to  us  the  blessings 
we  have  now  in  store,  whenever  the  occasion 
requires  them,  —  as  a  man  "  realizes  "  on  liis 
stocks  when  he  wants  ready  money.  Prayer 
is  a  check  on  the  bank,  always  honored.  Our 
vast  wealth  lies  there,  in  the  person  of  the 
Son.  We  may  draw  upon  these  vast  resources 
now,  and  daily.  We  may  "realize"  things 
unseen,  and  use  them ;  yet  still  they  remain 
unseen  of  men,  save  in  their  effects  upon  us 
and  through  us. 

We  may  realize  wisdom :  "If  any  man  lack 
wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  who  giveth  to  all 
men  liberally  and  upbraideth  not." 

We  may  realize  grace  for  every  emergency: 
"  My  grace  shall  be  sufficient  for  thee." 

We  may  realize  character.  The  riches  of 
manhood  in  Christ  are  ours,  and  lie  ready  for 
our  use.    The  feeblest  may  daily  "  grow  in  grace 


164  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

and  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and   Saviour 
Jesus  Christ "  :  — 

"  Till  we  all  come,  in  tlie  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man, 
unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ. 
That  we  henceforth  be  no  more  children,  tossed  to  and 
fro  and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine.  .  .  . 
But  .  .  .  may  grow  up  into  Him  in  all  things  wliich  is 
the  head,  even  Christ." 

We  may  realize  guidance,  absolute  and  com- 
plete, minute  and  constant :  "  Commit  thy  way 
unto  the  Lord,  .  .  .  and  He  shall  bring  it  to  pass." 
"  Thou  shalt  guide  me  with  thy  counsel." 

We  may  realize  peace  :  — 

"  Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace  whose  mind 
is  stayed  on  Thee,  because  he  trusteth  in  thee." 

"  Be  careful  for  nothing ;  but  in  every  thing  by 
prayer  and  supplication,  with  thanksgiving,  let  your 
requests  be  made  known  unto  God ;  and  the  peace  of 
God,  which  jDasseth  all  understanding,  shall  keep  your 
minds  and  hearts,  through  Christ  Jesus." 

"  Peace  I  leave  with  you ;  My  peace  I  give  unto 
you." 

We  may  realize  Christ's  ineffable  joy  :  — 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  165 

"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  My 
joy  might  remain  in  you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be 
full." 

"  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be 
full." 

Well,  then,  is  it  said :  — 

"Prayer  is  the  Christian's  vital  breath, 
The  Christian's  native  air." 

And  well  is  it  that  we  are  so  often  and  so 
urgently  exhorted  to  pray:  — 

"  Men  ought  always  to  pray,  and  not  to  faint." 

"  Pray  without  ceasing." 

**  In  every  thing  ...  let  your  requests  be  made 
known  unto  God." 

"  Is  any  afflicted  among  you  ?  let  him  pray." 

It  was  not  strange,  since  communion  with 
Him  is  the  secret  of  life,  that  after  the  tur- 
moil and  exhaustion  of  their  preaching  tour 
Christ  said  to  his  disciples,  "Come  ye  your- 
selves apart  [with  Me]  and  rest  awhile ; "  nor 
strange  that  Paul,  before  entering  on  the  work 
of  the  Apostolate,  was  sent  to  spend  three 
years  in  the  silences  of  Arabia  ;  nor  yet  that 
he  preferred  to  "  go  afoot "  from  Troas  to  Assos 


166  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

while  his  ship  sailed  around  the  projecting  land, 
that  in  the  midst  of  his  wearing  work  he  might 
have  a  day  in  solitude  with  God. 

Solitude  is  a  relief  to  the  Christian,  —  the 
working  Christian  ;  rather  than  a  burden,  as  to 
the  world. 

Let  the  Christian  pray.  Let  him  live  in  an 
atmosphere  of  prayer.  Let  him  commune  with 
God  continually  "  of  all  that  is  in  his  heart." 
Let  him  acquire  the  habit  of  spreading  all  his 
affairs  before  the  Lord,  as  Hezekiah  disposed  of 
Rabshakeh's  letter. 

There  is  nothing  so  minute  or  unimportant 
that  God  may  not  hear  it.  Whatever  interests 
the  soul  interests  the  Master.  Its  pettiest  trial, 
its  pettiest  pleasure,  if  pure,  thrills  to  His 
sympathetic  heart.  The  smallest  interest  is 
sacred  in  His  kindly  eyes. 

"  There  is  nothing  that  interests  you  that  is  too  little 
to  carry  to  your  God  in  the  solitude  of  closet  prayer. 
You  may  enter  into  your  chamber,  shut  your  door,  and, 
secure  of  a  kindly  hearing,  you  may  tell  your  Father 
which  is  in  secret,  of  little  things  that  worry  and  vex 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  167 

you,  which  are  yet  so  little  that  you  would  be  ashamed 
to  confess  to  your  nearest  friend  how  great  a  space 
they  filled  up  in  your  heart.  Fix  it  in  your  mind  that 
there  is  no  duty,  however  little,  which  we  can  do  with- 
out God's  help,  and  no  temptation,  however  small, 
which  we  can  resist  without  God's  grace."  * 

There  is  something  finely  suggestive  in  the 
narrative  concerning  the  disciples  of  John  Bap- 
tist. Upon  Ms  death  they  "took  up  his  body 
and  buried  it,  —  and  went  and  told  Jesus !  " 

The  title  of  Anna  Shipton's  little  book,  "  Tell 
Jesus,"  has  a  pleasing  sound  in  the  Christian's 
ear. 

What  shall  not  the  soul  tell  Him  ?  He  wel- 
comes the  approach :  — 

"  He  waits  to  answer  thee." 

His  warm  heart  yearns  for  the  confidence  of 
His  child.  He  is  pleased  when  the  Christian 
breathes  his  little  secrets  in  His  ear.  Tell  Him 
all! 

An  American  clergjrman  narrates  the  follow- 
ing incident :  — 

*  Newspaper  fragment  from  A.  K.  H.  Boyd. 


168  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"  The  pastor  of  one  of  our  Eastern  cliurclies 
was  visiting  London.  He  had  met  one  of  the 
merchants  of  the  city  in  America,  and  had  been 
urged  to  call  upon  him  in  case  he  should  ever 
pass  that  way.  Surmising  that  he  must  be  very 
busy,  and  having  but  a  few  hours  to  spare, — 
and  they  in  the  very  heart  of  the  day,  —  he  hesi- 
tated about  .intruding.  Nothing  but  the  mem- 
ory of  the  urgent  invitation  prevented  his 
omitting  the  call.     Upon  arriving  he  asked :  — 

" '  Can  I  see  Mr. ?  ' 

"  '  No !  he  is  very  busy  to-day.  This  is  steamer 
day,  and  he  cannot  be  interrupted  by  any- 
body.' 

"  '  Please  take  him  my  card.' 

"  In   a  moment   Mr.  appeared,  his  face 

lighted  up  with  pleasure. 

"  '  Just  as  I  expected  Mr. ;  you  are  very 

busy.     And  now  I  will  go  away.' 

" '  No  !  No  ! '  was  the  response.  '  Indeed  you 
must  come  in.' 

"  Taking  him  into  his  office,  without  waiting 
to  sit  down,  Mr. said  :  — 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  169 

"  '  I  am  very  glad  you  have  called.  I  would 
not  have  had  you  fail.  I  am  very  busy,  but  I 
always  have  a  moment  for  my  Lord.  I  have  a 
little  place  here  for  private  prayer.  You  must 
come  in  with  me,  and  we  shall  have  a  season  of 
prayer  together.' 

"  They  went  into  a  small  apartment,  evidently 
set  aside  for  this  purpose. 

"  '  Now  you  lead  in  prayer.' 

"  It  was  done.  Mr. followed.  A  hand- 
grasp  followed  beneath  beaming  countenances 
and  moistened  eyes ;  '  Good-bye '  was  hastily 
and  warmly  spoken ;  and  the  friends  separated." 

Only  ten  minutes  for  a  friendship  which 
spanned  the  ocean,  and  that  claimed  for  prayer  ! 
Their  fellowship  "  of  kindred  minds,"  "like 
that  above,"  drew  them  aside  to  commune  with 
each  other,  first  and  only,  by  communing  with 
the  Master. 

It  is  said  on  the  same  authority  that  several, 

perhaps  many,  merchants  in  one  (and  perhaps 

more)  of  our  large   cities,   have  fitted  up  for 

themselves     dark,    narrow,    box-like     closets, 

8 


170  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

whither,  each  by  himself,  they  are  wont  to 
retire  for  a  few  minutes  at  times,  during  the 
pressure  of  the  day's  business,  for  the  refresh- 
ment of  soul,  which  they  find  they  sadly  need, 
in  communion  with  God.  One  of  these  men  is 
reported  to  have  said :  "  On  some  days,  if  I  had 
not  that  resort,  I  believe  I  should  go  mad !  so 
great  is  the  pressure." 

In  order,  then,  to  the  culture  of  brotherly 
love,  to  relief  from  burdens,  to  the  supply  of 
special  wants,  —  spiritual  or  temporal,  —  to 
growth  in  grace ;  in  fine,  in  order  to  the  com- 
munication of  the  divine  life  to  the  soul,  the 
realization  in  the  present  of  the  soul's  wealth 
of  resource  in  Christ,  the  enjoyment  and  profit 
of  the  secret  of  the  Lord ;  —  the  soul  should 
pray.     Pray  often.     Pray  ever. 

"  The  secret  of  the  Lord  "  is  enjoyed  through 
union  with  Christ,  consummated  and  maintained 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  —  who  animates  the  Scrip- 
tures as  we  read ;  who  animates  our  returning 
prayer ;  tln-ough  whom  we  commune  with  God, 
unseen  of  man,  in  the  use  of  all  the  means  of 
grace. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  171 

"  Spirit  of  truth  and  grace, 

Come  from  above  ; 
Eest  on  us  tenderly, 

Peace-speaking  Dove. 
Cherish  our  holy  life  ; 
Banish  our  carnal  strife. 

Fill  us  with  love. 

Show  us  Christ's  lowly  heart, 

Humble  our  pride ; 
Bring  us  in  penitence 

Close  to  His  side. 
Bring  us  around  the  Cross 
Counting  our  gain  but  loss, 

There  to  abide." 


IV. 

THE  LAWS  OF  LIGHT. 

"  Where  unto  we  have  already  attained,  let  us  walk  by  the 
Bame  rule."  —  Phil.  iii.  16, 

TTj^VERY  calling  in  life  has  its  maxims,  some 
of  them  false  and  unworthy,  but  all   of 
them  attempts  at  the  crystallization  of  valuable 
experience  for  the  guidance  of  the  inexpert. 

The  disciple  of  truth,  standing  in  the  Light, 
will  soon  detect  certain  leading  lines  running 
through  the  whole  domain.  The  knowledge  of 
these  lines  will  stand  him  in  good  stead  in 
many  a  time  of  doubt.  Where  a  specific  direc- 
tion is  wanting,  or  seems  wanting,  for  the  guid- 
ance of  conduct  or  of  thought,  an  application  of 
the  principle  involved  will  serve  to  supply  the 
lack.  There  is  an  abundance  of  exact  precept 
and  doctrine  in  the  Scriptures,  but  there  are 
also  these  general  laws,  —  sometimes  formulated 
and  expressed,  sometimes  lying  just  beneath  the 
surface.     These    are    to  be    used  as  guiding 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  173 

principles.  Around  them  may  crystallize  a 
thousand  opinions,  and  upon  them  may  be 
based  a  thousand  actions,  for  which  no  other 
direction  may  be  at  hand. 

The  Bible  was  designed  to  stimulate  the 
human  intellect  to  its  utmost  vigor.  It  does 
indeed  descend  to  the  level  of  the  lowest : 
the  smallest  child  beyond  infancy,  and  the 
most  chaotic  mind  above  idiocy,  may  grasp  the 
initial  promise  which  guarantees  salvation.  But 
the  Book  does  not  abide  on  ground  so  low.  It 
was  given  to  draw  men  up.  If  the  man  stand 
still,  his  Bible  leaves  him.  The  Christian  of 
sluggish  and  slothful  intellect  has  practically 
but  a  minute  fragment  of  a  Bible.  "  Then  shall 
we  know  if  we  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord." 
The  disciple  should  advance.  He  should  soon 
begin  "  to  put  this  and  that  together,"  to  use 
his  enfranchised  reason  with  increasing  discrim- 
ination in  discovering  and  developing  the  seed- 
thoughts  of  truth.  Let  him  become  so  much  a 
MAiT  as  to  deduce  and  discern  the  laws  of  Light^ 
and  to  apply  them  with  a  manly  decision  and 


174  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

discretion  to  the  innumerable  details  of  life. 
Thu8  shall  the  Light  entirely  guide  his  way. 

1.  "  Prove  all  thing s.^^  A  noted  barrister 
instructing  a  student  at  law  said:  "First  and 
always,  take  nothing  for  granted.  Let  there  be 
proof  of  eyery  thing."  This  is  merely  wliat  the 
Scriptures  command :  "  Prove  all  things :  hold 
fast  that  which  is  good." 

Any  creed,  party,  sect,  philosophy,  scheme, 
which  seeks  the  believer's  countenance  or  co- 
operation, can  have  no  claim  upon  him  until  he 
have  himself  proved  its  claim  valid  in  the  light 
of  the  Word.  A  fair  seeming,  a  plausible  pre- 
tence of  righteousness  and  profit,  will  not  suf- 
fice; nor  even  the  quotation  of  a  passage  of 
Scripture  which  may  seem  to  yield  sanction  to 
the  thing  proposed.  The  soul  itself  must  take 
the  matter  up,  bear  it  patiently  into  the  full 
stream  of  Light,  let  rays  fall  upon  it  on  this  side 
and  on  that,  and  definitely  ascertain  its  sub- 
stantial accordance  with  the  tenor  of  the  law  of 
God.  If  this  accord  cannot  be  made  to  appear, 
the  Christian  should  not  commit  himself  to  it. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  175 

Nothing  is  to  be  done  at  random.  The  life  is 
to  be  measured  step  by  step ;  every  step  must 
be  taken  in  the  Light.  The  minutest  affairs 
should  not  be  left  to  regulate  themselves,  or  to 
be  regulated  by  the.  mere  impulse  of  the  mo- 
ment. 

Decisions  which  from  the  nature  of  the  case 
must  be  reached  instantly,  can  be  right  only  as 
they  flow  from  an  habitual  compliance  with  the 
condition,  "If  ye  abide  in  me,  and  my  words 
abide  in  you  .  .  ."  In  such  cases  there  is  in- 
stantaneous direction.  This,  however,  cannot 
be  had  except  when  it  is  needed :  nor  even  then, 
unless  the  soul  habitually  abide  in  the  Light. 
"  Prove  all  things." 

2.  Faith  is  the  best  sight :  "  We  walk  by  faith, 
not  by  sight."  He  who  walks  by  sight,  simply 
does  as  seems  best :  he  merely  guesses ;  he 
walks  in  darkness ;  for  "  there  is  no  light  in 
Am."  He  who  walks  by  faith  does  as  God 
tells  him:  he  does  right;  he  walks  in  the 
Light.  So  far  as  he  thus  walk,  he  makes  no 
mistake. 


176  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

All  things  are  part  or  product  of  God's 
thought.  That  thought,  in  its  completeness,  is 
too  large  for  the  grasp  of  the  human  under- 
standing. Man  has  no  line  wherewith  to  meas- 
ure God,  nor  any  vessel  large  enough  to  contain 
a  complete  revelation  of  Him :  the  ocean  cannot 
be  put  into  a  bucket.  So  God  reveals  only 
what  we  need  to  know.  Man's  knowledge, 
however  derived,  is  in  fragments  :  it  cannot  be 
framed  into  a  complete  and  harmonious  system. 
There  will  always  be  gaps,  missing  links ;  and 
hence,  mysteries. 

The  fragments  of  thought  and  fact  which 
come  to  us,  seem  disjointed  and  ill-fitting.  They 
do  not  therefore  contradict  each  other.  For 
instance,  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  harmonize 
man's  suffering  with  God's  love ;  sin  with 
Omnipotence  ;  free-will  with  Sovereignty.  The 
missing  links  leave  gaps.  But  these  things  are 
not  contradictions ;  they  exist  side  by  side  as 
contradictions  could  not  do. 

Galileo  declared  the  sphericity  of  the  earth. 
The  priests  demanded ;  Why  then  do  not  men 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  177 

fall  off  from  the  under  side  ?  He  could  not 
answer;  Newton  liad  not  yet  formulated  the 
law  of  gravitation.  Was  Galileo  wrong  ?  The 
very  school-boy  knows  he  was  not.  There  was 
simply  a  missing  link  in  the  information  at 
hand. 

Men  call  this  kind  of  thing  a  contradiction. 
It  is  not  a  contradiction.  It  is  merely  incon- 
gruity in  our  thought,  resulting  from  the  frag- 
mentary state  of  our  knowledge.  Incongruity 
in  our  thought  is  not  necessarily  contradiction 
in  fact :  — 

"  All  discord  —  harmony  not  understood  ; 
All  partial  evil  —  universal  good." 

These  are  some  of  the  problems  which  Nature 
suggests :  there  is  more  "  mystery "  in  her 
realm  than  in  that  of  Revelation.  Nature  lends 
no  aid  to  their  solution.     What  then  ? 

We  turn  to  the  Light,  —  to  God  speaking 
through  the  Scriptures ?  Why?  Because  God 
knows :  man  only  learns ;  and  he  had  best 
learn  fi'om  Him.  Because  God's  testimony  is 
the  best  testimony.     If  fragmentary,  it  yet  is 

8*  L 


178  THE'  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

less  so  than  that  of  our  narrow  observation,  and 
only  as  little  so  as  the  limitations  of  the  human 
mind  require.  It  is  the  best  possible  testimony 
so  far  as  it  goes,  and  it  goes  further,  than  any 
other  now  afforded  us. 

He  who  walks  by  faith  is  guided  by  this 
unerring,  wide-shining  Light.  His  knowledge 
is  the  largest,  the  most  accurate,  the  most 
satisfactory  possible  on  earth.  Men  otherwise 
are  but  guessers  at  truth  and  duty,  "ever 
learning  and  never  able  to  come  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth,"  disagreeing  among  them- 
selves, and  each  at  different  times  with 
himself. 

It  is  this  consideration  which  gives  point  to 
the  question,  "  Who  art  thou,  O  man,  that  re- 
pliest  against  God  ?  "  and  to  God's  demand  of 
Job:  "Who  is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel  by 
words  without  knowledge?"  Wisely  did  the 
patriarch  reply :  — 

"  I  know  that  thou  canst  do  every  thing,  and  that 
no  thought  can  be  withholden  from  thee.  Who  is  he 
that  darkeneth  counsel  by  words  without  knowledge  ? 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  179 

Therefore  have  /uttered  that  I  understood  not;  things 
too  wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew  not !  " 

Asaph  was  in  doubt  *  while  he  thought  men's 
thoughts,  and  the  doubt  brought  pain  :  — 

"  When  I  thought  to  know  this,  it  was  too  j^ainful 
for  me,  until  I  went  into  the  sanctuary  of  God :  then 
understood  I  their  end." 

Faith  is  the  best  sight.  To  receive  what  God 
says,  to  do  what  God  requires,  is  the  method  of 
certainty  and  safety.  The  sayings  may  seem 
incongruous,  and  the  requirements  may  seem 
extravagant  and  impossible :  but  God  knows ; 
it  is  man's  wisdom  to  acquiesce. 

"  One  part,  one  little  part,  we  dimly  scan 

Through  the  dark  medium  of  life's  feverish  gleam  ; 
Yet  dare  arraign  the  whole  stupendous  plan, 

If  but  that  little  part  incongruous  seem  ; 
Nor  is  that  part,  perhaps,  what  mortals  deem  : 

Oft  from  apparent  ills  our  blessings  rise. 
Ah!  then,  renounce  that  impious  self-esteem 

That  aims  to  trace  the  secrets  of  the  skies  ; 
For  thou  art  but  of  dust !    Be  humble,  and  be  wise." 

3.  The  ivill  of  Grod  is  the  sole  arbiter  of  right. 
God  is  the  fountain  of  all  existence,  and,  of 

*  Ps.  Ixxiii. 


180  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

course,  of  all  its  laws.  "  Shall  not  the  Judge 
of  all  the  earth  do  right?"  God  can  do  no 
wrong,  can  require  no  wrong ;  else  were  He  less 
than  God.  He  can  be  trusted  out  of  sight! 
He  can  be  trusted  to  lay  down  the  law  for  us. 

Wherefore,  in  the  last  analysis,  Right  and 
Wrong  split  and  divide  upon  His  sovereign 
will.  What  God  wills  is  right,  is  true,  is  best, 
—  best  for  others  and  for  us.  Christ's  climac- 
teric characterization  of  His  work  was :  — 

«  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  O  God ! " 

"  My  meat  is  to  do  the  wUl  of  Him  that  sent  me ! " 

"  I  do  always  those  things  that  please  Him  !  " 

This  was  His  right- conduct,  and  He  gives  it 
as  the  ultimate  law  for  ours.  His  prayer  for 
Himself  was  :  "  Not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done." 
And  He  taught  us,  as  the  sum  and  the  crown- 
ing expression  of  our  desire  and  prayer  for  both 
ourselves  and  others,  to  say :  "  Thy  will  be  done 
on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven." 

On  this  Will  man  may  fall  back,  —  for  it  is 
revealed  for  his  guidance.  Here  he  may  stand, 
as  on  a  rock  which  will  not  sink  beneath  him. 


STANDING  IN   THE  LIGHT.  181 

Bj  this  rule  the  conduct  may  be  regulated, 
to  this  key  the  heart  should  be  attuned.  The 
whole  life,  including  creed,  character,  and  con- 
duct, is  to  be  conformed  to  God's  will.  To 
accomplish  its  dicta  is  the  very  loftiest  aim  of 
creature-life.  It  was  the  avowed  aim  of  Jesus' 
life  :  who  shall  dare  the  attempt  to  excel  Him ! 

4.   The  creature  belongs  to  the  Creator, 

"  Behold,  all  souls  are  miQe  !  " 
"  Shall  the  thing  formed  say  to  Him  that  formed  it, 
Wliy  hast  thou  made  me  thus  ?  " 

"Wherefore  the  law  is  given :  — 

"  Fear  God  and  keep  His  commandments,  for  this 
is  the  whole  duty  of  man  ! " 

"  Whether  therefore  ye  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatsoever 
ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God !  " 

The  manufacturer  and  the  inventor  have 
prior  claim  upon  the  product  of  their  genius, 
their  skill,  their  time,  toil,  and  means.  Much 
more  has  God  the  supreme  claim  on  man.  Had 
there  been  no  redemption,  man  still  would  have 
belonged,  and  apart  from  redemption  man  still 
does  belong,  to  God.     His  time,  talent,  means, 


182  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

influence,  person ;  all  that  he  has  and  all  that 
he  is,  —  are  God's.  "Man's  chief  end  is  to 
glorify  God,  and  to  enjoy  Him  for  ever."  * 

5.  The  redeemed  belong  to  the  Redeemer, 
Whuerefore,  God  only  could  redeem ;  if  for  no 
other  reason,  lest  there  be  a  conflict  of  claim. 

"  Ye  are  not  your  own ;  ye  are  bought  with  a  price ; 
therefore  glorify  God  in  your  body  and  spirit,  which 
are  God's." 

"  Ye  are  bought  with  a  price ;  be  not  ye  the  ser- 
vants of  men." 

"  Forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  ye  were  not  redeemed 
with  corruptible  things,  as  silver  and  gold,  .  .  .  but 
with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ." 

It  is  then  most  natural  that  Christ,  on  His 
departure,  should  leave  with  His  disciples  the 
command,  "  Occupy  till  I  come."  It  is  natural 
that  He  should  claim  all  our  time,  our  thought, 
our  toil.  It  belongs  to  Him.  Our  business 
belongs  to  Him :  it  should  be  conducted  solely 
in  His  interests.  Our  recreations  belong  to  Him. 
Our  petty  savings,  or  our  wealth,  nay  our  daily 

*  Westminster  Shorter  Catechism. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  183 

earnings  even,  are  His !  to  be  distributed  (or 
held)  as  He  may  indicate. 

6.  Tlie  claims  of  men  follow  the  claims  of  God. 
God  is  first ;  the  divine  fatherhood  must  of 
necessity  be,  before  any  human  brotherhood 
become  possible.  The  first  table  of  the  moral 
law  has  the  precedence.  To  know,  worship, 
revere,  and  obey  God  are  obligations  which  un- 
derlie all  others.  To  neglect  one  of  these  things 
is  a  greater  crime  than  theft  or  murder,  other 
conditions  in  the  case  being  equal.  No  one 
guilty  of  this  neglect  has  any  just  claim  to  the 
appellation  "  a  moral  man." 

"  The  first  and  greatest  commandment  is,  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  with 
all  thy  soul,  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy 
strength." 

He  who  ignores  this  law  and  these  claims, 
gives  no  guarantee  that  he  will  regard  those 
which  are  minor  and  dependent,  —  those  which 
forbid  murder,  adultery,  theft,  slander.  In 
their  interior  sense,  "  love,"  he  cannot  obey 
them  except  he  first  love   God.     He   may   be 


184  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

trusted  to  regard  even  their  external  require- 
ments, only  so  far  as  it  may  be  convenient  for 
him  to  do  so ;  only  so  far  as  habit  of  thought 
and  action,  self-respect,  fear  of  civil  law,  and 
the  like,  may  compel  him.  He  who  ignores  the 
Father  is  apt  to  end  by  ignoring  the  brother. 
The  greater  before  the  less.  The  foundation 
before  the  superstructure.  The  root  before  the 
branch.  The  claims  of  men  cannot  precede  or 
rival  the  claims  of  God. 
But  they  do  follow  :  — 

"  And  the  second  commandment  is  Uke  unto  it, 
Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 

The  six  laws  of  human  relationship  immedi- 
ately follow  the  four  which  regulate  duty  to 
God.  There  is  no  omission.  The  duty  is  made 
plain.  Man  is  a  debtor  to  his  neighbor :  "  For 
no  man  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to 
himself."  Each  man  is  part  of  a  vast  frame- 
work ;  every  other  man  is  in  some  sense  his 
neighbor.  The  weakest  has  some  influence, 
some  "  opportunity,"  that  touches  all  the  rest. 
We  are  inextricably  bound  up  together.     Dis- 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT  185 

order  in  one  part,  thrills  through  the  structure. 
Righteousness  in  the  humblest  man,  reaches  the 
eyes  of  others  and  serves  both  God  and  man. 
Every  act  gives  out  its  influence.  Every  mo- 
ment is  freighted  with  responsibility. 

"  Each  man  has  some  part  to  play  ! " 

And  law  governs  the  whole.  Man  in  relations 
with  man,  as  with  God,  is  not  free  from  the 
direction  of  law,  from  the  obligations  of  duty, 
for  a  single  moment. 

7.  Form  follows  fact.  Redemption  was  a  fact 
before  it  was  given  form  on  Calvary.  Rev- 
elation was  a  fact  before  it  was  filled  to 
completeness  and  crystallized  into  shape  in 
Scripture.  The  soul  is  before  the  body.  The 
covenant  is  before  baptism.  Faith  precedes 
fidelity.  The  inner  life  must  precede  the  con- 
duct. 

God's  method  is  "  from  within  outward,"  not 
from  without  inward.  The  tree  is  developed 
from  within  the  seed.  Righteousness  is  de- 
veloped from  within  the  heart.  Salvation  must 
be  wrought  in  before  it  can  be  "  worked  out :  " 


186  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"Work  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling,  for  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  His  good  pleasure." 

That  is,  the  form  should  follow.  What  is  in 
the  heart  should  be  displayed  in  the  speech  and 
conduct.  The  assertion,  "  The  light  .  .  .  hath 
shined  in  our  hearts,"  meets  the  quick  response, 
"  Let  your  light  so  shine  I "  The  life  should 
"  bring  forth  fruit."  Faith  should  issue  in  con- 
fession of  faith,  in  good  works.  Love  begins 
by  loving,  and  expends  itself  in  serving. 

So,  also,  the  church  invisible  seeks  visible 
expression,  —  so  long  as  God  makes  Christians, 
Christians  will  have  "  churches."  Thought 
seeks  utterance  by  word ;  the  thought  of  God, 
by  the  sermon,  the  address,  the  word  of  counsel, 
the  publication.  The  Christian's  knowledge 
tends  to  crystallize  in  dogmas ;  the  summary 
of  Christian  faith,  in  creeds.  And  as  long  as 
Christians  continue  to  learn,  we  shall,  with  equal 
Scriptural  warrant  for  their  right  use,  have 
sermons  and  books,  dogmas  and  creeds.  Every 
preacher,  not  a  fool,  dogmatizes ;   nor  can  he 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT  187 

avoid  doing  so.  Every  intelligent  Christian  has 
his  creed,  partial  or  complete,  unwritten  or  ex- 
pressed :  there  is  a  necessity  in  the  very  nature 
of  the  case.  The  modern  railing  at  creeds  and 
dogmas  is  but  the  din  of  folly:  wise  men  who 
join  in  it  intend  only  to  rebuke  the  unwarranted 
use  so  often  made  of  them. 

Forms  are  not  to  be  slighted  or  neglected 
because  the  facts  take  precedence.  Form  and 
fact  are  inseparable.  The  formless  is  useless  — 
for  man.  Man  knows  even  God,  only  as  He 
takes  form,  reveals  Himself.  Forms  have  their 
place,  and  impose  on  us  the  necessity  of  using 
them.  The  Bible,  the  Church,  the  Sabbath, 
Baptism  and  the  Supper,  the  formal  confession 
of  Christ,  the  vocal  prayer  and  praise,  all  have 
valid  claims.  There  can  be  no  rightful  neglect  of 
them,  even  upon  plea  of  superlative  spirituality. 
Any  neglect  is  prima  facie  evidence  that  the 
spiritual  life  is  either  wanting  or  waning.  If  the 
soul  were  emancipated  from  its  "  form,"  the  body, 
then  might  the  warranted  forms  of  Christianity 
be  laid  aside  ;  not  otherwise.     Death  comes,  in- 


188  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

deed  ;  but  also  the  resurrection ;  and  the  soul's 
need  of  form  persists  unto  this  last  cry :  "  Not 
for  that  we  would  be  unclothed,  but  clothed 
upon." 

8.  "  Tlie  letter  hilleth^  hut  the  spirit  giveth  life.^^ 
Human  words  and  forms  express  God's  facts 
only  approximately,  not  accurately.  The  facts 
are  too  large;  forms  of  speech,  of  service,  of 
conduct,  are  not  adequate  to  hold  them.  They 
overflow,  like  a  river  that  has  burst  its  banks : 
in  cej'tain  exigencies  the  channel  proves  too 
narrow  and  too  shallow  for  the  stream.  There 
is  sometimes  an  overflow  of  the  best  literal  rule, 
—  even  one  given  by  God,  if  encased  in  human 
language.  There  is  a  superabundance  of  wealth 
in  Christ  which  no  words  can  fully  suggest. 
There  is  a  breadth  in  the  responsibilities  of  life, 
in  the  government  of  God,  in  the  possibilities 
of  redeemed  manhood,  which  sometimes  over- 
spreads all  bounds  of  language  or  rule. 

Christ  sacrificed  literal  accuracy  by  quoting 
from  the  Septuagint,  the  common  version  of  the 
time,  rather  than  make  His  words  less  profitable 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  189 

by  the  use  of  the  exact  Hebrew.  "  The  Sabbath 
was  made  for  raan,  and  not  man  for  the  Sab- 
bath." Christ  himself  baptized  not,  but  His 
disciples  ;  and  Paul  said,  "  I  thank  God  I  bap- 
tized none  of  you  save  Crispus  and  Gaius.  .  .  . 
For  Christ  sent  me  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach 
the  gospel."  The  law,  even  of  the  Sabbath  or 
of  Baptism,  may  meet  an  emergency  for  which 
its  letter  does  not  provide. 

It  is  not  always  safe  to  press  every  point, 
every  analogy,  of  a  parable  to  a  doctrinal  or 
practical  conclusion.  The  leading  idea  of  the 
teaching  must  rule,  not  the  aggregation  of 
minute  suggestions  ;  the  spirit,  not  the  letter. 

"  Form  follows  fact,"  and  may  vary  in  aspect 
or  in  method  for  the  sake  of  preserving  the 
"  fact "  uninjured.  The  Lord's  Supper  is  not 
observed  by  anybody  in  a  reclining  posture, 
and  rarely  by  night  or  in  an  upper  room ;  yet 
the  observance  is  lawful  and  sufficient. 

No  typical  sacrifice,  ordinance,  character,  or 
structure  conveyed  the  full  idea  of  Christ  which 
it  suggested,  or  failed  to  present  points  in  which 


190  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

no  analogy  could  be  traced.  ''  The  law  "  gave 
but  a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come,  and  by 
development  the  revelation  of  Redemption  out- 
grew it :  "  The  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but 
grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ."  The 
river  burst  its  banks  :  Judaism  perished. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  gave  an  early,  a 
complete,  and  a  standing  rebuke  to  the  exagger- 
ation of  "  the  letter  "  at  the  expense  of  "  the 
spirit."  Yet  the  letter  is  binding,  in  its  order. 
The  vessel  should  be  carefully  kept  and  carried, 
lest  the  precious  contents  be  spilled.  The  con- 
tents can  be  preserved  and  used,  only  by  the 
employment,  not  the  neglect,  of  the  vessel  which 
contains  them.  Grace  is  to  be  had  ouly  by  the 
careful,  patient,  almost  reverential  keeping  and 
use  of  the  means,  the  agencies,  the  forms,  the 
rules,  through  which  it  is  conveyed. 

A  vessel  may,  however,  by  careless  use,  be- 
come dented,  defaced ;  yet  the  contents  are  not 
destroyed,  nor  usually  vitiated.  The  Bible  was 
copied,  translated;  man's  finger-marks  are  on 
it :  yet  it  is  the  Bible  still,  the  adequate  and 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  191 

aiitlioritative  revelation  of  God  in  Christ.  Cus- 
toms and  rules,  even  forms  imposed  by  Scrip- 
ture, may  undergo  changes.  Suppose  the 
change  in  any  given  case  be  for  the  worse : 
grace  still  flows  through.  Those  who  have 
made  the  change  need  not  be  unchurched  or 
called  apostate. 

And  again :  while  a  curb  and  windlass  may 
be  needed  at  a  well,  the  curb  should  not  be 
built  so  high,  nor  the  windlass  made  so  heavy, 
that  the  little  child  or  a  feeble  man  may  not 
obtain  water  in  his  thirst! 

9.  Grod  works  hy  processes^  not  by  a  series  of 
isolated  efforts.     His  law  of  grace  is,  growth. 

The  Bible  grew,  and  was  sixteen  centuries  in 
reaching  completeness.  The  Sabbath  was  more 
than  four  thousand  years  in  attaining  its  pres- 
ent grandeur.  The  idea  of  Redemption,  as  a 
revelation,  dates  from  the  fall,  and  received 
its  latest  development  one  hundred  years  after 
Christ  was  born.  The  visible  church  is  a  growth 
whose  germs  lie  far  back  in  the  ages. 

The  Christian  grows,  as  a  child.     He  needs 


192  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT.- 

nourisliment  and  exercise.  He  may  be  over- 
taxed. He  needs  patient  waiting  and  tender 
cherishing.  His  first  judgments  are  crude  and 
inaccurate.  His  early  ideas  are  vague  and  par- 
tial, as  an  infant's.* 

The  individual  church  grows,  both  outward 
and  upward,  by  a  process  which  seems  painfully 
tedious.  The  prevalence  of  righteousness  in 
the  land,  in  the  world,  in  realms  of  trade,  law, 
society,  is  a  matter  of  slow  growth.  And  the 
in-gathering  of  the  great  host  of  the  redeemed  is 
an  achievement  to  which  God  lends  the  meas- 
ureless power  of  Time.     For  the  law  is  :  — 

"  Precept  must  he  upon  precept,  precept  wpon  pre- 
cept ;  line  upon  line,  line  upon  line ;  here  a  little  and 
there  a  little." 

10.  Ohligations  never  conflict;  they  come  in 
order. 

The  various  institutions  and  relations  in  life, 
are  recognized  in  the  Word.  God,  one's  own 
soul,  the  family,  the  vocation,  the  church.  Soci- 
ety, and  the  State,  have  their  several  claims. 

*  See  Eph.  iv.  10-16. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  193 

There  is  room  even  for  other  institutions,  — 
industrial  associations,  charitable  organizations, 
voluntary  societies.  The  Light  shines  on  all 
the  relationships  of  life.  The  order  of  obliga- 
tion may  vary  with  the  individual  and  the 
time,  but  the  various  obligations  can  never 
come  in  conflict ;  there  is  always  a  preference, 
and  each  one  may,  at  the  time,  ascertain  what 
it  is. 

"To  obey  the  powers  that  be,"  to  walk 
"among  men,"  to  be  "diligent  in  business,"  to 
rule  and  cherish  one's  own  household,  to  regard 
"the  assembling  of  yourselves  together,"  to 
lend  a  helping  hand  to  a  neighbor ;  these  things 
are  duties  as  well  as  to  "  watch  and  pray  "  and 
to  "  worship  God." 

True  life  is  broad,  includes  all  the  elements 
of  righteousness,  shirks  nothing,  puts  all  in 
order,  so  as  to  make  the  best  use  of  all  for  the 
glory  of  God. 

11.  Little  things  are  the  great  things. 

"  Despise  not  the  day  of  small  things." 
"  Here  a  little,  and  there  a  little." 


194  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"  He  that  is  faithful  in  that  which  is  least  is  faithful 
also  in  much;  and  he  that  is  unjust  in  the  least  ..." 

"  Whosoever  shall  give  to  drink  unto  one  of  these 
little  ones,  a  cup  of  cold  water  only  .  .  ." 

"And  Jesus  called  a  little  child  unto  Him,  and  set 
him  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said,  Except  ye  .  .  . 
become  as  little  children  .  .  ." 

"  Whosoever  .  .  .  shall  humble  himself  as  this  lit- 
tle child,  the  same  is  greatest  ..." 

"  And  whoso  shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in 
my  name,  receiveth  Me.  But  whoso  shall  offend  one 
of  these  little  ones  that  believe  in  me,  it  were  better 
for  him  .  .  ." 

"  Suffer  the  little  children  and  forbid  them  not  to 
come  unto  me,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

"  Fear  not,  little  flock,  for  it  is  your  Father's  good 
pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom." 

"  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least 
of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 

"  Take  us  the  foxes,  the  little  foxes,  that  spoil  the 
vines." 

"  A  little  more  slumber,  a  little  more  sleep,  .  .  .  50 
shall  thy  poverty  come  .  .  ." 

"  Then  he  that  had  the  one  talent  came,  and  said  .  .  ." 

This  law  of  the  value  of  littles  is  something 
marvellous  in  its  way.    It  seems  to  obtain  every- 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  195 

where.  One  is  safe  in  applying  it  in  any  direc- 
tion. The  most  paradoxical  form  of  stating  it 
seems  the  most  nearly  accurate. 

This  is  altogether  in  contrast  with  the  notions 
of  men.  Men  look  for  and  worship  large  things. 
There  are  few  ''  big  things "  in  Grace ;  "  not 
much"  is  its  law;  its  greatness,  its  surpassing 
grandeur,  are  brought  about  by  littles.  The 
vast  sweep  of  Providence  is  accomplished  by 
the  painstaking  care  of  the  sparrows,  of  the 
hairs  of  one's  head,  of  the  lot  "  cast  into  the 
lap,"  of  the  tear-drop  on  an  infant  Moses'  cheek. 
Redemption  has  its  glory  in  its  comprehension 
of  many  minute  events,  both  in  its  purchase  and 
in  its  application. 

Man  must  be  content  to  be  "  a  little  one,"  a 
"babe "  in  Christ  at  first,  —  a  weak  and  it  may 
be  wayward  Christian;  he  may  not  wait  to 
make  his  start,  expecting  to  be  wise  and  well- 
grown  from  the  outset.  If  any  Christian  seem 
sturdy  from  the  beginning,  either  there  is  a  de- 
lusive appearance,  or  his  spiritual  vigor  has  its 
root  in  a  slow  and  careful  former  training. 


196  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Growth  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures, 
comes  only  by  patient  use  of  littles.  All  good 
habits  are  formed  by  littles.  All  great  ingather- 
ings result  from  former  work  in  littles.  Little 
sins  are  the  most  dangerous.  Little  trials  are 
the  most  grievous  ;  a  quaint  writer  has  told 
us  that  it  is  not  the  great  stones  in  the  way  that 
most  distress  the  traveller,  but  the  little  peb- 
bles, which  cut  the  feet. 

The  claims  of  the  children  —  upon  the  family, 
the  community,  and  the  church  —  are  prior  to 
and  stronger  than  those  of  adults.  Our  prayers, 
expenditures,  and  labors  should  ever  yield  their 
needs  the  precedence.  This  fact,  so  plainly 
taught,  seems  to  be  but  crudely  apprehended  as 
yet,  even  by  the  church ! 

It  is  the  little  things  God  is  pleased  to  have 
us  tell  Him.  Our  little  joys  make  up  far  the 
greater  part  of  our  happiness.  Little  duties 
make  up  the  most  of  life.  The  work  of  our  one- 
talent  Christians  is  more  needed  by  the  cause  of 
Christ  to-day,  than  all  that  abler  and  wealthier 
men  could  do. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  197 

In  a  word,  the  little  things  are  everywhere 
the  essential  things.  Without  them,  the  great 
results  had  not  been  achieved ;  nor  can  others 
be  brought  about,  save  by  their  aggregation. 

On  this  subject  God  demands  a  complete  rev- 
olution of  the  world's  ideas.  That  the  revolu- 
tion is  needed,  shows  how  viciously  the  human 
intellect  is  warped  by  sin.  Redemption  will 
not  be  complete,  until  a  prime  and  painstaking 
regard  for  the  little  things  be  substituted  for  the 
amazing  disregard  of  them  even  noAV  prevalent. 

12.  Death  is  in  order  to  life. 

"  Except  a  com  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and 
die,  it  abideth  alone ;  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth 
much  fruit." 

Christ  must  needs  die  in  order  to  redeem 
men :  "If  He  shall  make  his  soul  an  offering 
for  sin  .  .  ."  is  the  condition  of  the  covenant, 

Each  economy  of  grace  dies,  that  from  its 
decay  may  spring  the  growing  germ  of  one 
larger  and  grander,  as  the  Jewish  economy  died 
to  make  way  for  the  present  dispensation.  The 
carnal  heart  dies  by  reason  of  the  begetting  of  a 


198  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

new  life  within.  The  body  dies  ;  and  from  its 
germ,  Christ  present  with  it,  there  shall  pro- 
ceed the  more  glorious  body  of  the  resurrection. 
The  heavens  and  the  earth  that  now  are,  shall 
pass  away ;  and  from  their  ruins  shall  appear 
"  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwell- 
eth  righteousness."  The  race  of  man  died  in 
sin ;  then  began  the  development,  from  their 
number,  of  the  new  and  more  glorious .  race  of 
the  redeemed,  begotten  of  "  the  second  Adam, 
the  Lord  from  heaven."  Old  habits  and  loves 
must  die  when  one,  in  Christ,  becomes  "  a  new 
creature;"  and  new  habits  and  affections  de- 
velop, some  of  them  (as  parental  love)  akin  to 
the  old  in  name,  but  new  in  fact  and  far  more 
worthy.  The  Christian  is  dead;  nevertheless, 
he  lives  ;  yet  not  he,  but  Christ  liveth  in  him  ; 
and  the  new  life  is  glorious  beyond  the  concep- 
tion even  of  its  possessor. 

There  is  a  relation.  The  germ  ever  feeds 
upon  the  decaying  matter  of  the  seed.  Redemp- 
tion feeds  upon  Christ's  "body  and  blood."  The 
gospel  dispensation  fed,  even  now  feeds,  upon 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  199 

the  Mosaic.  The  Christian  feeds  upon  the  bet- 
ter habits,  the  worldly  education  and  prestige,  of 
his  former  life.     The  rule  is  constant. 

13.  Peace  comes  hy  war.  Christ  said,  "  I 
came  not  to  bring  peace,  but  a  sword."  The 
truth  must  fight  its  way.  The  Gospel  provokes 
men ;  it  must  rise,  as  it  has  ever  risen,  against 
wind  and  tide. 

"  This  world  was  made  for  climbing  on.'* 
One  makes  headway  only  through  struggles. 
All  good  work  is  hard  work.  Especially  does 
the  best  work.  Christian  labor,  call  for  both 
toil  and  pain.  The  Christian  has  constant 
"fightings  within."  As  Christ  must  suffer  in 
order  to  save ;  as  the  soul  is  in  the  pangs  of 
conviction  before  it  is  born  to  joy  in  Christ; 
so  the  Christian  must  bear  the  cross  before  he 
wear  the  crown  \  '-'- If  we  suffer  with  Him,  we 
shall  be  also  glorified  together."  Christians  are 
enjoined  to  "  put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God  " 
and  to  "  take  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is 
the  word  of  God." 

All  truth  hurts.     We  must  expect  opposition. 


200  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"  Cursed  are  ye  when  all  men  speak  well  of 
yon."  It  will  not  do  to  court  popular  favor. 
•  Preaching  to  suit  the  times,  is  not  apt  to  be 
preaching  Christ.  Creeds  most  fought  against, 
are  likely  to  prove  the  nearest  true.  The  ser- 
mon that  cuts  deepest,  will  probably  do  the 
most  good.  Anger  is  a  good  sign  ;  indifference, 
even  negative  pleasure,  is  to  be  feared;  these 
indicate  freezing  to  death !  Christians  reel  and 
stagger  under  the  doctrines  they  most  need  to 
hear:  the  weak  eye  smarts  in  the  strong  light. 
The  cry  for  smooth  things  from  the  oracles  of 
God,  and  the  healing  of  the  hurt  of  men  slightly, 
saying,  "  Peace,  peace,  when  there  is  no  peace," 
are  evils  explicitly  and  repeatedly  denounced 
in  the  Scriptures.  Sin  must  be  conquered! 
War  must  come  in  order  to  peace.  "  The  word 
of  God  is  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword, 
piercing  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and 
spirit,  .  .  .  and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart."     Cut  deep  ! 

14.  Self-sacrifice  is  success;  the  only  success. 
The   noblest  life    is   living   for    others.      The 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  201 

greatest  happiness  is  found  by  ignoring  it  as  an 
end,  and  living  for  God. 

"  Whosoever  will  save  his  life,  shall  lose  it ;  and 
whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it." 

God's  constant  thought  is  for  His  creation,  not 
for  Himself;  hence  His  matchless  glory.  His 
revelation  of  Himself  in  Christ  displays  the  most 
exhaustive  and  exhausting  self-sacrifice,  both 
as  the  right  method  of  action  and  the  true 
method  of  success :  "  Ought  not  Christ  to  have 
suffered,  and  to  enter  into  His  glory." 

Our  rights  are  best  maintained  by  ignoring 
them ;  if  insisted  on  and  asserted,  it  should  be 
only  for  the  sake  of  others,  not  of  seK.  True 
nobility  lies  in  thoughtlessness  of  self :  — 

"  Look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things ;  but  every 
man  also  on  the  things  of  others." 

"  We  then  that  are  strong  oiight  to  bear  the  infirmi- 
ties of  the  weak,  and  not  to  please  ourselves.  Let 
every  one  of  us  please  his  neighbor.  .  .  .  For  even 
Christ  pleased  not  Himself." 

True  manhood  is  in  serving  others.     The  great 
Example   is  one  of  utter  self-sacrifice  ;   and  it 
9* 


202  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

compels  men's  admiration  and  wins  men's 
hearts !  "  The  good  Shepherd  giveth  His  life 
for  the  sheep." 

This  self-sacrifice  is  not  to  be  intermittent,  or 
only  occasional.  It  is  the  law  of  life.  Christ 
said :  "  I  do  always  those  tilings  that  please 
Him." 

15.  Service  is  ennohling.  Perhaps  at  no  point 
do  we  see  more  plainly  than  here  that  God's 
thoughts  are  not  as  men's  thoughts,  nor  His 
ways  as  theirs.  But  God  is  right:  men  are 
mistaken.  The  law  which  affirms  the  nobility 
of  service  gives  the  flat  contradiction  to  the 
assumptions  of  men,  and  the  rebuke  direct  to 
their  most  ineradicable  feelings  and  actions. 

Paul  boasted  himself  a  slave  of  Jesus  Christ, 
Our  Lord  made  himself  a  servant  to  us.  His 
filling  the  place  of  the  lowest  menial  when 
washing  the  disciples'  feet,  was  in  immediate  * 
rebuke  of  the  strife  "  which  should  be  greatest." 

"  He  that  will  be  greatest  among  you,  let  him  be 
least  of  all,  and  servant  of  all." 

*  Compare  Luke  xxii.  24-27  with  John  xiii.  1-16. 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT  203 

The  only  true  exaltation  is  tlirougli  the  most 
devoted  service.  The  Master  has  honored  and 
hallowed  the  title  "  servant,"  beyond  the  power 
of  men  to  fix  opprobrium  upon  it. 

16.  Tlie  most  hinding  servitude  is  the  truest 
freedom.  There  is  no  servitude  so  lasting,  so 
manifold  in  its  chains,  so  intense  in  its  devotion, 
as  servitude  to  Christ ;  and  none  other  is  so  free 
as  His  servant.  Paul,  boasting  himself  Christ's 
slave,  3^et  exulted  in  the  freedom  of  a  son  in 
the  same  house  with  Him.  The  promise  is, 
"...  the  truth  shall  make  you  free  ;  "  yet  this 
freedom  is  only  unto  the  service  of  righteous- 
ness :  "  But  now,  being  made  free  from  sin,  and 
become  servants  to  God  ..." 

Sin  pays  wages,  —  "  death ;  but  the  gift  of 
God  is  eternal  life ; "  and  the  gift  binds  in  a 
stronger  devotion  than  the  wages.  Gratitude 
brings  the  most  faithful  servitude,  and  this  ser- 
vitude is  the  truest  freedom.  The  more  the 
Christian  loves  his  Lord,  the  more  free  he  feels 
to  serve  Him  ;  the  less  he  loves,  the  more  is  his 
service  hampered  and  constrained. 


204  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Freedom  from  Christ  is  slavery  to  sin.  This 
servitude  is  unsatisfactory  at  best :  it  galls  and 
frets.  God  breaks  it :  a  new  service  begins,  — 
the  service  of  Christ.  This  bondage  can  never 
be  broken!  It  is,  freely,  everlasting;  no  re- 
lease can  be  given,  none  is  sought.  The  more 
the  Christian  sees  of  this  service,  the  more  he 
loves  it ;  he  is  more  free  unto  it,  the  more  he 
is  bound;  and  the  more  Love  binds  him  to  it, 
the  more  free  he  becomes  in  rendering  it,  and 
the  more  he  rejoices  in  it  and  seeks  its  en- 
largement. The  more  he  realizes  that  he  is 
saved,  freed  from  the  obligation  of  fear,  the 
more  does  love  grow  and  the  larger  is  his 
labor.  The  silken  cord  is  stronger  than  the 
iron  chain.  '  ^. 

The  less  the  Christian  supposes  Christ  has 
done  for  Him,  the  less  is  the  sense  of  his  ob- 
ligation :  his  service  seems  more  compulsory, 
seems  mere  hard  duty ;  wherefore  the  less  is 
rendered,  and  the  more  irksome  it  is.  The 
greater  is  the  sense  of  obligation  because  of 
a  larger  vision   of   Christ's  gifts,   the   greater 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  205 

also  is  tlie  willingness  of  proffer  and  rendition, 
and  the  more  fully  is  it  realized  that  the  "  yoke 
is  easy,"  and  "  the  burden  light." 

The  freedom  of  the  haughty  soul  to  think  for 
itself,  ignoring  the  Scriptures,  is  slavery  to  igno- 
rance and  prejudice.  The  greater  the  restric- 
tion to  the  Word  as  the  source  of  light,  the 
greater  is  the  freedom  to  knowledge,  the  more 
readily  it  is  obtained,  and  the  more  satisfactory 
it  seems. 

Similarly,  the  greater  the  certainty  of  events 
because  of  God's  sovereignty,  the  more  firmly 
is  free  agency  established.  The  more  minute 
and  complete  God's  rule,  even  in  the  heart,  the 
more  man  also  has  "his  own  way."  Every- 
where, "  the  most  binding  servitude  is  the  truest 
freedom." 

17.  Love  is  law.  Men  deem  love  and  law  in 
conflict.  As  usual,  men  err.  Love  is  law ;  gives 
law ;  is  the  spirit  vitalizing  all  good  law ;  "  is 
the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  "  God  so  loved  the 
world  ..."  Even  hell  is  a  fruit  of  love.  The 
eternal  punishment  of  the  wicked  in  hell  pro- 


206  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

ceeds  from  love,  even  from  love  to  tliem.  "  God 
u  love." 

Man  cannot  obey,  save  by  loving:  Christ's 
love  is  the  mainspring  of  our  love,  whence  pro- 
ceeds our  service.  Fear  may  have  fruit ;  hate 
is  strong ;  self-respect  may  lead  men  far ;  con- 
science also  operates ;  but  love  is  the  only 
constraining  motive  :  "  The  love  of  Christ  con- 
straineth  us ,"  said  Paul.  God  reconstructs 
men  on  the  principle  of  love.     "  Love  is  law." 

18.  Wealcness  is  strength.  Self-confidence,  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  is  an  injury ; 
self-distrust,  a  help.  "Put  no  confidence  in 
the  flesh."  The  antiphony  is,  "  Rejoice  in 
Christ  Jesus."  To  the  Christian,  self  is  noth- 
ing ;  Christ,  every  thing.  Trusting  in  self  is 
leaning  on  a  bruised  reed:  it  will  break  and 
thrust  one  through.  Our  salvation  is  Christ, 
not  some  grace  or  gift  imparted  by  Christ  and 
separated  from  Himself.  Our  resources  are  not 
in  self,  but  in  Him.  The  sense  of  weakness  is 
not  a  nerveless,  useless  hand,  but  an  index- 
finger  pointing   the   soul   to   its   true   Resort : 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  207 

"  When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong."  Why  ? 
Because,  "  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 
which  strengtheneth  me."  "Is  any  thing  too 
hard  for  the  Lord  ?  " 

Only  when  one  finds  he  is  lost,  does  he  desire 
Christ.  The  deeper  the  sense  of  need,  the 
speedier  and  more  sure  is  the  flight  to  safety, 
and  the  more  unreserved  the  trust. 

The  sense  of  guilt,  of  indwelling  sin,  of  in- 
herent weakness,  cannot  be  too  deep.  The 
ruin,  the  helplessness,  even  the  inability  of  the 
soul,  cannot  be  made  too  plain.  Job  came  at 
last  to  "  abhor"  himself;  then  he  found  his  lost 
joy  —  in  God.  The  deeper  the  knowledge  of 
sin,  the  greater  is  the  appreciation  of  salvation, 
and  the  larger  are  the  gratitude,  the  joy,  the 
eagerness  to  serve.  Despair  of  self  brings  hope : 
self-hope  is  ruin. 

The  more  one  wants  Christ,  the  more  quickly 
he  finds  Him  ;  the  more  he  wants  in  Christ,  the 
more  he  finds  in  Him ;  the  more  of  Christ  he 
wants,  the  more  he  receives. 

The  sinner's  strength  is  to  do  nothing,  but  to 


208  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

trust  in  what  Christ  has  done.  The  Christian's 
strength  is  to  he  nothing,  and  to  find  Christ  his 
All  in  All.  The  worker's  strength  is  to  be 
weak,  and  to  call  to  his  aid  the  infinite  resources 
of  his  Lord. 

To  say,  "  I  cannot,"  though  it  be  true,  does 
not  free  from  the  obligation  nor  make  the  ser- 
vice an  impossibility.  One  can  do  whatever 
God  wants  him  to  do,  though  it  were  to  remove 
mountains ;  by  knowing  that  he  can  do  nothing, 
and  that  Christ  in  him  can  do  all  things. 

19.  The  'pilgrim  is  the  best  citizen.  He  who 
feels  least  at  home  on  earth,  has  the  deepest 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  men,  —  even  their 
present  welfare.  He  who  has  "no  continuing 
city "  here,  seeking  "  one  to  come,"  is  best 
prepared  to  administer  the  affairs  of  the  city 
here.  He  who  has  least  interest  in  earth,  has 
the  best  interest. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  longing 
for  heaven  unfits  for  contentment,  even  repose, 
on  earth.  The  man  who  most  wants  to  be  there, 
is  most  content  here  :  the  best  Clnistian  has,  of 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  209 

all  men,  the  least  tendency  to  suicide.  The 
more  he  realizes  the  life  to  come,  the  more  he 
makes  of  the  life  that  now  is.  The  more  ready 
he  is  to  depart,  the  more  willing  is  he  to  stay. 

Companionship  with  Christ,  fits  for  the  best 
companionship  with  men.  He  who,  from  prin- 
ciple, makes  most  light  of  earthly  disaster,  is 
most  studious  to  avoid  it.  The  more  absorbed 
the  soul  becomes  in  Christ,  the  broader  becomes 
its  thought  and  the  more  tender  its  care,  for 
men.  The  more  one  anticipates  and  realizes 
his  citizenship  in  heaven,  the  more  careful  is  he 
to  be  a  good  citizen  on  earth.  The  more  he 
grows  absorbed  in  Christ's  kingdom,  the  more 
faithful  and  judicious  he  becomes  in  the  affairs 
of  his  own  government. 

The  more  he  rejoices  in  his  home  in  heaven, 
the  sweeter  becomes  his  earthly  home :  he 
makes  it  better ;  he  loves  it  more.  The  more 
he  condemns  sin,  the  more  he  loves  the  sinner. 
The  more  he  aspires  for  himself,  the  lower  he 
stoops  to  save  others.  As  he  becomes  purer,  he 
becomes  more  charitable  in  his  judgments  of  his 


210  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

fellows.  In  a  word:  the  better  fitted  he  be- 
comes to  enter  upon  the  fruition  of  his  heavenl}^ 
citizenship,  the  more  peaceable,  helpful,  open- 
handed  citizen  of  earth  he  is. 

No  more  grave  error  is  committed  than  that 
which  imputes  to  the  Christian  the  loss  of  in- 
terest in,  or  of  fitness  for,  earthly  pursuits.  On 
the  contrary,  the  more  intently  he  follows  the 
pursuits  of  his  high  calling,  the  more  interested, 
prudent,  faithful,  and  successful  he  comes  to  be 
in  all  the  proper  pursuits  of  earth  ;  for  those 
include  these,  —  Take  the  cases  of  Joseph  and 
Daniel.  —  The  more  a  man  is  "a  pilgrim  and  a 
stranger  here,"  the  more  is  he  the  best  citizen, 
the  most  stable  man  in  every  respect. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  Laws  of  Light.  The 
Scriptures  present  many  others.  They  are  to 
be  discerned  by  vigilant  use  of  the  vision, 
standing  in  the  Light.  They  are  designed  to 
stimulate  independent  (yet  divinely  guided,  and 
so  safe  and  accurate)  thought,  back  toward  the 
origin  of  things,  and  forward  toward  various 
applications   of    them   in   practical   matters    of 


STANDING  IN  THE  LIGHT,  211 

opinion  and  action.  Thus  the  Christian  may 
come  to  walk  in  the  Light  with  some  ease  and 
freedom ;  he  may  be  able  to  say  with  David  : 

"  And  I  will  walk  at  liberty, 
For  I  seek  thy  precepts." 


PART  FOURTH. 


WALKING  IN   THE   LIGHT. 

(Christian  Conduct.) 


"Walk  as  children  of  Light."  —  Eph.  v.  8. 


I.  What  ?  and  Why  ? 
II.  In  the  Home. 

III.  In  the  Church.. 

IV.  Among  Men. 


*'  His  wisdom  ever  waketh. 
His  sight  is  never  dim  ; 
He  knows  the  way  He  taketh, 
And  I  will  walk  in  Him!" 


I. 

WHAT?    AND  WHY? 

"Let  your  light  so  shine  hefore  men  .  .  ."  —  Matt.  v.  16. 

"TTE  is  active  in  the  churcli,  but  he  is  a 
leetle  sharp  in  a  trade." 

This  remark  was  passed  in  comment  on  the 
character  and  conduct  of  a  professing  Christian. 
Although  cahuly  made  and  not  meant  in  bitter- 
ness, it  produced  a  puncture  ;  for  it  was  true, 
when  it  ought  not  to  have  been  true,  and  it  was 
unwittingly  based  on  a  logical  distinction  and 
a  just  preference. 

There  is  a  distinction  between  conduct  and 
labor;  and  in  the  Christian  life  the  realm  of 
conduct  has  the  preference,  both  in  the  order  of 
time  and  in  the  order  of  importance. 

To  he  right  is  of  course  the  first  thing :  char- 
acter precedes  even  conduct.  To  do  right  in 
the  common  affairs  of  life,  comes  next.  Here  is 
a  broader  field  for  righteousness,  a  field  more 


216  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

pressing  in  its  claims,  than  that  of  special  and 
occasional  effort. 

The  command  "  Walk  in  the  Light,"  as  used 
in  the  Scriptures,  ordinarily  refers  to  the  Chris- 
tian's demeanor  in  the  common  ways  of  life.  It 
has,  of  course,  its  subjective  aspect,  looking  to 
his  thoughts,  opinions,  comforts.  To  these 
things  extended  reference  has  been  made.*  The 
bulk  of  thought  designed  to  be  suggested  by 
the  phrase  seems,  however,  to  regard  the  objec- 
tive aspect,  the  appearance,  the  daily  speech 
and  conduct :  "  Walk  circumspectly,  redeem- 
ing the  time  ; "  "  walk  honestly ;  "  "  walk  not  as 
other  Gentiles  walk ; "  "  walk  after  His  com- 
mandments." 

This  phase  of  the  Christian  life  takes  prece- 
dence of  all  that  is  signified  by  the  terms, 
"  zeal,"  "  activity,"  "  effort,"  "  working  for 
Christ." 

"  He  that  saith  he  is  in  the  Light,  and  hateth  his 
brother,  is  in  darkness  until  now." 

"  If  a  man  say  he  love  God,  and  hateth  his  brother, 
he  is  a  liar." 

*  See  Part  Third  :  "  Standing  in  the  Light." 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  21T 

He  who  is  in  the  habit  of  saying  these  things, 
takes  on  the  form  of  Christian  zeal.  He  be- 
comes a  sort  of  evangelist.  He  is  "  active." 
He  "  speaks  for  Christ."  He  rises  often  in  the 
prayer-meeting,  in  the  class-meeting,  in  the  con- 
vention. Yet  in  the  cases  to  which  reference 
is  made,  his  conduct  belies  his  words.  So  his 
"  saying,"  his  "  testimony  for  Christ,"  goes  for 
nothing.  He  has  omitted  the  important  thing. 
The  first  and  great  fruit  is  lacking:  it  must 
therefore  be  that  the  root  is  not  in  him ;  hence, 
the  gaudy  appearance  of  the  more  showy  fruit 
is  a  mockery.     His  good  works  are 

"  A  painted  ship  upon  a  painted  ocean." 

His  zeal  is  factitious.     "  He  is  a  liar." 

"In  this  the  children  of  God  are  manifest  .  .  .  ; 
whosoever  doeth  not  righteousness  is  not  of  God,  neir 
ther  he  that  hateth  his  brother." 

"  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  Him  ought  also  so  to 
walk,  even  as  He  walked." 

"  So  let  our  lips  and  lives  express 
The  holy  Gospel  we  profess  ; 
So  let  our  walk  and  conduct  shine, 
To  prove  the  doctrine  all  divine." 
10 


218  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Tliis  matter  of  the  Cliristian's  ordinary  con- 
duct, is  made  the  theme  of  a  host  of  urgent  and 
varied  exhortations,  injunctions,  and  warnings, 
from  the  lips  of  Jesus  and  the  apostles.  Only 
afterward  and  subordinately,  is  special  service 
enjoined.  He  who  neglects  this  order,  who 
makes  church  matters  and  evangelistic  work  his 
prime  care,  to  the  neglect  and  injury  of  his 
common  conduct,  who  forgets  that  Christ  is 
glorified  more  by  Christ-likeness  in  every-day 
affairs  than  by  perfervid  utterances  and  ag- 
gressive zeal,  —  places  himself  in  the  same  cate- 
gory with  those  whom  the  Master  thus  ad- 
dressed :  — 

"  Wo  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites ! 
for  ye  pay  tithe  of  mint,  anise,  and  cummin,  and  have 
omitted  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law,  —  judgment, 
mercy,  and  faith.  These  ought  ye  to  have  done,  and 
not  to  leave  the  others  undone." 

Each  of  these  things  is  binding,  but  each  in 
its  order.     Firsts  the  conduct. 

"  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they  may 
see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  .  .  ." 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  219 

"For  the  grace  of  God  .  .  .  hath  appeared,  .  .  , 
teaching  us  that  denying  ungodliness  we  should  live 
soberly,  righteously  ..." 

"  Let  your  conversation  be  as  it  becometh  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ." 

"  This  is  love,  that  we  walk  after  His  command- 
ments." 

"  Walk  in  the  way  of  good  men." 

The  full  statement  of  this  duty  is,  Christ-like- 
ness. To  do,  to  sjjeak,  to  be  silent,  to  suffer,  as 
Christ  would  do  ;  to  manifest  at  every  point  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  that  is  in  us ;  to  do  nothing 
from  a  worldly  motive  or  in  a  worldly  manner, 
but  all  for  Jesus'  sake,  and  in  the  way  that  will 
best  please  Him ;  to  display  unostentatiously, 
quietly,  constantly,  naturally  and  not  by  pres- 
sure, the  fruit  which  shall  prove  the  presence 
of  Christ  in  us,  —  this  is  walking  in  Light.  And 
to  the  undertaking  and  maintenance  of  just  this 
walk,  every  Christian  is  urgently,  rejDeatedly, 
persistently  called. 

This  is  honest.  Thus  shall  we  be  seen  as  we 
are.     Who    would    sail    under    false    colors? 


220  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Imagine  tlie  Hartford  hoisting  tlie  black  flag  of 
piracy ! 

What  is  the  Christian  ?  A  Christian !  He 
is  dead,  and  Christ  liveth  in  him.  This  new 
life  is  his  choice.  The  "body  of  death"  still 
clings  to  him,  but  this  is  his  shame  and  sorrow. 
Let  the  disgrace  be  kept  hid.  "  I  keep  my  body 
under."  Let  the  true  life  appear.  "  By  their 
fruits  shall  ye  know  them.'''* 

This  is  profitable  for  men.  It  reaches  them 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  touches  them  where 
they  are  most  tender  and  most  accessible. 

Mr.  J and  Mr.  R ,  both  infidels,  one 

of  them  a  violent  and  dissolute  man,  became 
Christians  at  length.  Through  what  agency? 
Not  church-effort :  they  scorned  churches.  Not 
by  evangelistic  address :  they  hooted  at  it.  Their 
conversion  was  the  fruit  of  the  godly,  patient, 
silent  lives  of  two  devoted  Christian  women. 
The  wife  of  one  dared  not  speak,  had  she 
chosen.  Both  women  thought  it  best  not  to 
speak.  They  suffered  ;  they  prayed  —  and 
waited.    After  many  a  weary  jeav,  their  waiting 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  221 

was  crowDed  with  manifest  success.  The  steady 
stream  of  silent  influence  could  not  be  stopped, 
it  could  not  be  met  by  abuse,  and  it  could  not 
be  resisted. 

Thh  is  pleasing  to  God.  He  is  well  pleased 
with  such  sacrifice.  This  "is  more  than  all 
whole  burnt-offerings  and  sacrifices."  Nothing 
pleases  God  so  much  as  likeness  to  Himself. 

This  is  pre-eminently  honoring  to  Christ.  The 
so-called  "  moral  "  life,  with  no  Christ  in  it, 
does  not  fall  in  this  category.  But  the  life 
which  avowedly  derives  its  supplies  from  Christ, 
and  which  proves  by  its  common  and  constant 
fruit  that  these  supplies  are  real  and  rich,  is 
greatly  to  His  honor.  Men  may  not  always 
be  converted  by  it ;  but  they  know  whom  to 
credit,  and  the  credit  is  duly  given,  —  often 
openly.  Although  like  Julian  the  Apostate  they 
may  reject  Christ  to  the  last,  yet  like  him  they 
will  say :  "  Galilean.,  thou  hast  conquered  !  "  Thus 
men  shall  know  that  "  their  rock  is  not  as 
our  Rock,  even  our  enemies  themselves  being 
judges." 


222  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"  If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments." 
"  Ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  a 
holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people ;  that  ye  should  show 
forth  the  praises  of  Him  who  hath  called  you  into  His 
marvellous  Lights 


II. 

IN  THE  HOME. 
"  God  setteth  the  solitary  in  families."  —  Ps.  Ixviii.  6. 

'TPHE  family  relation  is  an  institution  of 
God.  It  lies  at  the  root  of  all  human 
development,  thrift,  enjoyment.  It  is  the 
normal  unit  of  society,  of  the  state,  of  the 
church.  These  three  make  up  the  vast  frame- 
work of  human  life :  tliis  one  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  whole.  The  family  is  the  seed 
from  whose  germ  all  healthy  growth  devel- 
ops, —  growth  national,  social,  ecclesiastical : 
there-  are  apparent  exceptions,  but  they  vanish 
under  analysis. 

God  declares  himself  to  be  the  "  God  of  all 
the  families  of  Israel."  He  promises  blessings 
to  "the  seed  of  the  righteous."  Observation 
shows  that  blessings  are  apt  to  descend  from 
parent  to  child.  "  Heredity "  has  its  root  in 
the  Bible !     Inheritance  is  a  law  of  the  state. 


224  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

Parentage  gives  the  place  in  society.  The 
family  is  the  true  unit. 

"  Come  thou  and  all  thy  house  into  the  ark,  for  the^ 
have  I  found  faithful." 

"  The  promise  is  unto  you  and  to  your  children." 

"  The  unbelieving  husband  is  sanctified  by  the  wife, 
and  the  unbelieving  wife  by  the  husband ;  else  were 
your  children  unclean ;  but  now  are  they  holy." 

The  family  relationship  finds  its  symmetry 
and  completeness,  only  in  the  Home.  The 
family  is  the  soul,  the  home  is  the  breathing 
body  which  it  animates.  The  family  is  the 
fact  which  seeks  expression  in  the  home  as  the 
form  of  its  existence,  the  method  of  its  develop- 
ment, and  the  agency  of  its  influence. 

The  Home  is  an  ordinance  of  God.  It  is  the 
very  fundamental  ordinance,  as  is  suggested  by 
its  nature,  which  observation  discloses ;  by  its 
origin,  which  history  reveals ;  and  by  its  place 
and  function,  which  the  Scriptures  teach. 

"And  the  Lord  God  took  the  man,  and  put  him 
into  the  garden  of  Eden.  ..." 

"  Every  wise  woman  buildeth  her  house." 
"  He  blesseth  the  habitation  of  the  just." 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  225 

Many  people  have  no  home.  This  is  not 
in  accordance  with  the  design  of  God.  The 
life  attains  its  best  development  and  wields  its 
best  influence,  when  the  home  is  its  pivot 
and  centre.  The  family  life  is  dwarfed,  it 
pines  and  eventually  dies,  if  persistently  de- 
nied the  protecting  and  cherishing  influences 
of  the  home.  Life  in  a  boarding-house  or  at 
a  hotel,  is  not  favorable  to  the  development 
of  the  highest  type  of  piety.  Jesus  saw  fit, 
houseless  and  homeless  as  He  was  in  the  ful- 
ness of  His  privation  as  Redeemer,  to  make  a 
home  for  a  season  at  Peter's  house  in  Caper- 
naum, and  to  enter  into  the  home-life  of  the 
family  in  Bethany. 

Our  young  men  and  women  are  often  too 
eager  to  relinquish  their  homes,  not  usually  for 
others,  in  marriage,  but  for  an  Arab  life.  Jesus 
remained  in  His  mother's  house  until  He  was 
thirty  years  of  age.  Yet  his  life-work  ended  at 
thirty-three  I 

Too  many  from  unworthy  motives  shrink 
from  and  delay,  or  refuse  marriage.  Very 
10*  o 


226  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

often  this  is  at  the  mere  behests  of  worldly 
fashion :  until  they  can  have  a  fashionable  home, 
they  will  have  none.  Jesus  saw  fit  to  perform 
His  first  miracle  at  a  feast  given  in  honor  of  the 
marriage  of  a  poor  couple. 

The  same  folly  frequently  obtains  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  relation.  The  choice  is  not 
seldom  lightly  made,  made  hastily,  thought- 
lessly, regardless  of  just  requirements,  and  in 
obedience  to  a  foolish  taste,  a  headlong  passion, 
or  a  wicked  ambition.  Abraham's  care  in  pro- 
viding for  his  son  Isaac,  is  worth  remembering ; 
and  upon  Solomon's  folly  in  seeking  an  Egyp- 
tian alliance.  History  rings  out  a  warning  which 
echoes  still. 

Having  the  home,  many  yield  readily  to  the 
temptation  to  sacrifice  its  claims  to  the  clamors 
of  the  vocation.  The  demands  of  the  counting- 
room,  the  office,  or  the  farm,  are  permitted  to 
absorb  so  much  attention  that  the  home  is 
wickedly  robbed. 

Duty  begins  in  the  home.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  even  the  church  has  a  prior  claim. 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  227 

As  a  rule,  the  precedence  is  to  be  given  to  the 
advantages,  the  opportunities,  the  necessities, 
the  religious  culture,  the  happiness,  of  one's 
own  household.  If  the  rule  must  sometimes 
yield,  the  necessity  should  be  regarded  in  the 
light  of  a  calamity,  and  no  stress  of  circum- 
stances should  suffice  to  make  the  calamity 
the  rule  ;  this  "  injunction  "  ought  never  to  be 
made  "perpetual." 

The  Christian  should  manifest  a  Cliiist-like 
spirit  at  home.  The  common  virtues  should  be 
cultivated  and  displayed  here  above  all  other 
places.  Meekness,  patience,  cheerfulness,  con- 
stant self-sacrifice,  a  rigid  truthfulness,  sympa- 
thy, love ;  there  is  vast  need  of  these  things  in 
our  Christian  homes,  and  a  vast  lack  of  them  ! 
Nowhere  else  will  these  virtues  accomplish  so 
much,  nowhere  else  will  their  absence  prove  so 
mischievous.  In  the  tender  and  close  relations 
of  the  family,  the  least  disorder  will  cause  a  jar. 
The  machinery  of  home  requires  much  oil  to 
prevent  friction.  Its  sensitive  harmony  is  easily 
put  out  of  tune. 


228  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

Fretting ;  grumbling  ;  constant  or  frequent 
fault-finding;  the  appropriation  of  the  best 
things ;  thoughtlessness  of  the  others  ;  a  gloomy, 
countenance  ;  sharp,  cutting  words  ;  deceptions  ; 
suspicions  ;  alienations  ;  exactions  ;  undue  re- 
strictions ;  cheerlessness  ;  the  maintenance  of  a 
sullen  or  morbid  silence ;  the  banishment  of 
generous  laughter  and  all  the  lighter  pleasures, 
or  even  the  neglect  to  provide  and  stimulate 
these  pleasures,  —  these  are  some  of  the  ills  by 
which  many  a  Paradise  is  marred,  and  many 
a  one  destroyed.  Incalculable  harm  is  done. 
Christ  is  dishonored. 

The  Christian  father  who  habitually  comes 
home  at  evening  too  late  to  greet  the  children, 
or  so  worried  and  worn  that  he  will  not  unbend 
or  relax ;  the  Christian  mother  and  wife  who 
prefers  fashionable  society  or  neighborhood 
gossip  to  the  task  of  setting  and  keeping  her 
house  in  order,  and  impressing  the  Master's 
spirit  upon  it ;  the  Christian  young  man  who 
treats  his  home  as  if  it  were  a  boarding-house  ; 
and  the  Christian  young  woman  who  makes  it  a 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  229 

mere  kingdom  of  convenience,  —  these  are  mur- 
derers of  home-life. 

The  smile,  the  cheerful  greeting  morning  and 
evening,  the  word  tenderly  spoken,  the  thought- 
ful act  of  kindness,  are  little  things,  cheap  and 
full  of  good  fruit.  It  is  no  small  task  to  so 
persist  in  this  conduct,  to  cultivate  the  spirit  of 
the  Master  to  such  an  extent,  that  these  fruits 
of  righteousness  shall  characterize  the  house- 
hold ;  yet  this  is  precisely  what  is  required. 

Further :  The  CMstian  should,  to  the  extent 
of  his  influence  and  authority,  introduce  and 
maintain  the  worship  of  God  in  the  home. 
Godliness  is  even  before  brotherly  kindness. 
The  ordinances  and  worship  of  God  have  a 
claim  on  the  household  even  prior  to  that  of  the 
inter-domestic  virtues.  These  things  tend  to 
nourish  the  life  whose  fruit  these  virtues  are. 
The  root  is  before  the  fruit. 

It  should  become  understood  that,  so  far  as 
he  can  make  it  so,  the  Christian's  home  is  held 
as  belonging  to  God ;  is  a  home  where  God  is 
worsliipped,  where  His  Word  is  held  in  honor 


230  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

and  put  to  daily  use  ;  in  which  also  His  ordi- 
nances are  kept,  and  must  be  kept,  by  all  who 
enter.  A  Bible  should  be  in  sight  in  almost 
every  room.  The  cream  of  Christian  litera- 
ture should  have  the  preference  in  purchases 
for  the  reading-table  and  the  shelves.  Chris- 
tian hymns  should  at  times  be  sung,  Chris- 
tian precepts  should  be  cited  and  enforced,  and 
appeal  should  be  made  to  Christian  motives. 
So  far  as  the  Christian  is  able,  he  should  cause 
the  whole  atmosphere  to  be  pervaded  and  hal- 
lowed by  a  Christian  spirit,  and  all  household 
law  and  habit  to  be  based  upon  the  divine 
law. 

Especially  does  this  responsibility  rest  upon 
Christian  heads  of  families.  The  head  of  the 
household  has  authority ;  is  responsible  to  God 
not  only  for  self  and  for  the  wielding  of  influ- 
ence, but  also  for  the  responsibility  of  rule. 
Such  a  one,  whether  husband  or  wife,  is  under 
bonds  to  see  that  God  is  openly  and  constantly 
recognized  as  Lord  of  the  home :  by  the  family 
service  of  prayer  and  praise  ;  by  invoking  His 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  231 

guidance  and  protection;  by  seeking  wisdom 
from  His  word ;  and  by  enforcing  a  respectful 
observance  of  His  commands  on  all  beneath  the 
roof. 

"  Thou  shalt  teach  these  things  to  thy  children." 
"  Remember  the  Sabbath-day  to  keep  it  holy.  .  .  . 
on  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work  ;  thou,  nor  thy  son, 
nor  thy  daughter,  thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-ser- 
vant, nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy 
gatesJ* 

This  responsibility  is  not  to  be  shirked  be- 
cause it  is  difficult  to  bear  :  the  duty  is  impera- 
tive. He  who  plays  the  coward  in  the  presence 
of  the  responsibility,  is  unworthy  of  the  honor, 
the  privilege,  which  God  bestowed  in  putting 
him  in  the  place. 

Let  it  be  known  that  the  home  is  held  in  a 
firm  grasp,  as  a  sacred  trust  from  God ;  as  one 
of  His  own  ordinances,  hallowed  by  His  appoint- 
ment and  blessing,  and  made  as  sacred  as  the 
church.  Let  the  sweet  atmosphere  of  godliness 
siu'round  all  who  enter,  even  for  an  hour ;  and 
go  out  with  all  who  go,  even  for  a  hurried  and 


232  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

formal  call.  Let  the  home  be  "sanctified," 
set  apart,  holy  unto  the  Lord ;  with  all  its  in- 
mates, its  influences,  its  opportunities,  its  re- 
sponsibilities. Plan  for  the  home.  Pray  for 
it.  Work  for  it.  Utilize  it  for  Christ.  Let  it 
be  the  Master's  dwelling-place. 


III. 

IN  THE  CHURCH. 

"...  that  thou  mayest  know  how  thou  oughtest  to  be- 
have thyself  in  the  house  of  God,  wliich  is  the  church  of  the 
living  God,  the  pillar  and  stay  of  the  truth."  —  1  Tim.  iii.  15. 

'Y^HE  Christian  should  have  a  place  in  some 
Church  of  Christ,  Translated,  tliis  is  al- 
most a  truism.  The  original  word  for  "  church  " 
means,  simply,  the  assembly  of  those  who  have 
been  "called  out."  Christ  has  "called  out" 
His  people  from  the  world,  "  a  peculiar  people," 
unto  Himself.  The  Christian  is  one  of  them. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  his  place  is  among  them. 
Baptism  follows  belief.  Confession  of  Christ 
follows  faith  in  Him.  The  inner  substance 
seeks  expression  in  the  visible  form.  The 
believer  should  seek  the  society  of  believers. 
Those  who  are  one  in  Christ  should,  as  far  as 
possible,  manifest  their  unity  together  with 
Him:  if  Christ  bind  all  together,  they  should 
be  together  in  external  association. 


234  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

The  promise  and  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
Christians,  a%  a  'power  for  aggression^  are  to  the 
church,  not  to  the  isolated  believer :  — 

"  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them." 

"  And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come, 
they  were  all  with  one  accord  in  one  place.  And  sud- 
denly there  came  a  sound  from  heaven,  .  .  .  and  they 
were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 

The  early  converts  were  received  to  the 
church :  "  And  the  Lord  added  unto  the  church 
daily  such  as  should  be  saved."  *  The  apos- 
tolic counsels  to  young  Christians  were  ad- 
dressed to  the  churches :  "  Paul  .  .  .  unto  the 
church  of  God  which  is  at  Corinth;"  "Paul 
.  .  .  unto  the  churches  of  Galatia."  In  fine, 
there  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  the  Scriptures 
contemplate  the  possibility  of  such  a  thing  as  a 
Christian  remaining  out  of  the  visible  fold  for 
any  appreciable  length  of  time. 

The  Christian  needs  the  fruits  of  church- 
membership.     He  is  at  first  but  a  "babe"  in 

*  Literally  :  "  Added  unto  the  church  daily  the  saved." 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT,  235 

Christ,  —  whatever  he  may  deem  himself.  He 
requires  protection  and  care.  He  needs  the 
public  song  and  prayer,  the  Baptism,  and  the 
Supper.  He  needs  the  stimulus  and  suggestion, 
the  instruction  and  reproof,  of  the  preached  word. 
He  needs  the  warmth  of  fellowship,  the  pastoral 
supervision  and  counsel,  the  repeated  calls  to 
labor,  and  the  agency  for  benevolence,  which 
the  church  was  designed  to  supply.  No  Chris- 
tian can  afford  to  do  without  all  this. 

Some  shrink:  because,  as  they  say,  they  are 
not  worthy.  —  A  wicked,  swearing  teamster,  who 
had  been  the  terror  of  his  neighborhood,  was 
converted.  He  was  about  to  seek  admission  to 
the  Lord's  table.  He  was  asked  if  he  thought 
he  was  worthy.     His  answer  was  :  — 

"  As  worthy  as  any  man  ;  for  I  am  a  poor, 
worthless  sinner,  saved  by  the  grace  of  God 
through  the  precious  blood  of  Christ.  I  trust 
in  Him  alone." 

No  one  has  any  other  "  worth  "  than  Christ's ; 
and  all  this  is  the  portion  of  every  believer.  To 
speak  of  one's  lack  of  worth,  is  either  to  doubt 


236  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Christ,  or  to  forget  that  He  is  his  who  claims 
Him. 

Many  are  staggered  by  a  misconception  as  to 
the  meaning  of  a  single  verse  in  Paul's  recorded 
rebuke  of  the  Corinthians.*  These  Christians 
had  degraded  the  Supper  into  a  Bacchanalian 
orgy.  The  apostle  in  the  midst  of  the  rebuke 
said,  as  translated :  "  He  that  eateth  and 
drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  dam- 
nation to  himself." 

"  Unworthily  "  many  read  "  unworthy ;  "  and 
the  difference  is  vast !  "  Damnation  "  they  read 
as  it  stands,  without  referring  to  the  margin, 
where  "judgment"  (chastisement)  is  substi- 
tuted ;  or  to  the  context,  where  tliis  is  plainly 
shown:  ''For  this  cause  many  are  weak  and 
sickly  among  yo,u,  and  many  sleep."  This  was 
the  chastisement  upon  the  church  for  its  folly : 
"  But  when  we  are  judged,  we  are  chastened  of 
the  Lord,  that  we  should  not  he  condemned 
with  the  world." 

*  1  Cor.  xi.  17-34.  The  whole  passage  must  be  taken  to- 
gether. Thus  taken,  and  studied,  it  solves  its  own  problems. 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  237 

The  church  at  Coriuth  turned  the  Supper  into 
a  midnight  feast  of  gluttony  and  drunkenness. 
For  tlih  sin,  the  church  was  chastised  by  the  loss 
of  members  in  untimely  death,  and  by  an  un- 
usual and  alarming  sickness  and  infirmity  among 
the  living.  This  was  because  the  Supper  was  ob- 
served unworthi-?^,  —  in  a  manner  so  unworthy. 
What,  now,  has  all  this  to  do  with  an  isolated 
Christian  ;  one,  too,  who  has  no  fear  concerning 
his  method  of  observance  ?     Simply  nothing ! 

The  ordinances  of  God's  house  are  not  so 
sacred  that  laying  even  a  profane  hand  upon 
them  puts  one  beyond  reach  of  pardon.  These 
ordinances  may  not,  indeed,  be  treated  with 
contumely,  unrebuked.  And  what  treatment, 
on  the  part  of  a  trembling  soul,  could  be  more 
unworthy  than  studious  neglect !  To  refuse  to 
partake  is  most  dangerous.  To  disobey  the 
divine  command  incurs  risk:  obedience  brings 
blessing. 

The  weaker  the  Christian  is,  the  more  he 
needs  the  church.  Why  do  men  forget  that 
Christ  came  to  save  the  lost !    The  wayward  and 


238  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

feeble  have  the  strongest  clahn  upon  these 
sacred  provisions,  —  at  least  until  they  plunge 
into  wanton  disobedience  or  open  disgrace. 
Christ's  way  with  such  is  thus  declared :  "  The 
bruised  reed  will  He  not  break,  and  the  smok- 
ing flax  will  He  not  quench,  till  He  bring  forth 
judgment  unto  victory."  * 

This  memhersMp  is  a  privilege.  No  man  con- 
fers a  favor  on  a  church  by  uniting  with  it. 
The  youngest,  the  feeblest,  the  most  obscure 
church,  in  the  Master's  name  confers  a  favor  on 
the  noblest,  the  wealthiest,  the  most  cultured, 
the  most  influential  man,  when  he  is  welcomed 
to  its  fellowship.  This  is  a  privilege,  however, 
which  may  not  justly  be  withheld  from  any  of 
Christ's  own  —  who  strive  to  live  to  Him  — 
when  they  come  knocking  at  the  door. 

^I7ie  church  needs  the  Christian.  He  should 
come  that  he  may  do  good,  as  well  as  get  good. 
There  is  room  in  this  field  of  good-doing,  for 

*  In  the  whole  realm  of  Christian  literature  there  is  per- 
haps nothing  more  admirahle,  in  its  way,  than  the  sermon  of 
President  Davies  on  "  The  Compassion  of  Christ  to  weak 
Believers,"  founded  on  this  text.     Vol  I.,  Ser.  viii. 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  239 

even  "  little  folk."  Jesus  said  "  the  Lord  hath 
need  of  him,"  even  of  an  ass.  The  most  obscure 
person  is  needed  in  the  place  to  which  the  Mas- 
ter calls  him ;  and,  perhaps  in  ways  he  cannot 
discern,  he  will  be  of  use  there.  The  use  may 
be  small,  but  is  real ;  and  it  is  essential.  The 
house  requires-  its  doorstep,  humble  as  is  its 
office  ;  and  the  little  lath,  small  as  it  is  and  un- 
seen of  men.  The  church  is  not  complete  while 
there  is  lacking  the  presence  of  the  humblest 
person  whom  God  calls  to  a  place  in  its  midst. 

The  church-membership  should  he  located,  and 
kept  or  changed,  on  the  basis  of  God's  call. 
One's  place  is  where  God  wants  him;  not 
necessarily  where  he  wants  to  go.  God  may 
want  His  child  in  some  church  which  has  heavy 
financial  burdens  to  bear,  a  hard  fight  to  make 
in  acquiring  a  foothold,  a  large  amount  of  evan- 
gelistic work  to  do,  an  untrained  membersliip 
requiring  culture,  a  poverty-stricken  people 
awaiting  assistance,  or  a  disheartened  minister 
needing  stimulus  and  aid.  It  may  be  that  where 
such  wants  are  to  be  found,  there  the  Christian 


240.  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

will  find  his  own  best  development  as  well  as 
his  greatest  usefulness.  How  few  try  the  exper- 
iment! The  natural  choice  is  apt  to  be  upon 
other  principles  ;  but  the  "  natural "  choice  is 
the  choice  of  men,  a  guess,  a  hazard  in  the  dark. 
The  Christian  should  walk  in  the  Light,  going 
where  God  calls. 

Wherever  he  may  be,  the  Christian  should 
help  bear  the  burdens  of  the  church.  He  need 
not  be  forward,  but  he  should  be  ready.  Re- 
fusal or  neglect  to  share  these  burdens,  is  dis- 
honesty. 

There  is  even  more  need,  oftentimes,  of  the 
presence,  the  votes,  the  counsels,  the  thinking- 
force^  the  labors,  the  gifts,  —  of  the  humble,  the 
poor,  and  the  inexpert,  than  of  the  similar  ser- 
vices of  the  wise,  the  adepts,  the  men  of  promi- 
nence. Yet  the  more  one  might  accomplish  by 
the  effort,  the  greater  is  the  robbery  of  his 
brethren  if  he  withhold  it.  There  are  attorneys 
as  guilty  of  theft  in  this  way  as,  in  another  line 
merely,  are  some  of  the  rogues  whom  they  pros- 
ecute.    There  are  merchants  as  guilty  thus,  as 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  241 

their  peculating  clerks  are  otherwise.  Spar- 
tan morality  is  not  yet  extinct,  even  in  our 
churches :  "  The  crime  is  not  in  doing  wrong, 
but  in  being  caught." 

The  women  are  needed  in  the  assemblages 
and  v/ork  of  the  church,  as  well  as  the  men. 
The  business  meetings  of  the  congregation  have 
claims  on  all.  The  finances  appeal  to  the  poor- 
est. The  prayer-meetings  lay  requirements  on 
those  whose  gifts  are  least  cultivated.  "  The 
little  things  are  the  great  things  :  "  no  one  may 
excuse  himself  by  sajdng,  "  I  am  not  much." 

The  hosts  of  Christians  who  neglect  the 
social  gathering  commit  a  grave  wrong.  And 
the  still  greater  hosts  who  relegate  the  Sabbath- 
school  to  more  willing  hands,  are  agents  in  per- 
mitting and  committing  an  injury  which  may 
yet  send  its  thrill  of  pain  through  all  the 
churches  of  the  land,  and  perhaps  even  result  in 
their  undermining  and  prostration !  The  care- 
less wielding  of  the  vast  responsibilities  imposed 
u^^on  Christians  in  our  time  by  this  peculiar 
work,  and  the  complete  neglect  of  which  some 
11  p 


242  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

of  our  most  stable  people  are  guilty,  have  al- 
ready given  rise  to  grave  problems,  and  to  some 
alarming  indications.  The  most  precious  inter- 
ests of  truth  are  as  much  involved  in  the  char- 
acter of  our  Sabbath-school  teaching,  as  in  the 
orthodoxy  of  our  schools  of  theology  ;  and  the 
healthy  growth  of  the  church  has,  through 
the  prevalent  neglect  of  domestic  training,  come 
to  be  involved  as  much  in  evangelistic  work  for 
and  in  the  Sabbath-school,  as  in  all  that  the 
average  pulpit  can  accomplish.  Let  the  Chris- 
tian be  sure  of  his  warrant  for  absence  from  this 
scene  of  evangelism  and  Christian  culture. 

The  Christian'' s  aim  in  the  church,  and  for  the 
church,  should  he  Christ-like.  In  seeking  his 
own  profit,  his  aim  should  be  "  doctrine,  reproof, 
instruction,  correction  in  righteousness,  that 
the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly 
furnished  unto  all  good  works  ;  "  together  with 
needed  comfort  and  support.  He  should  ex- 
pect, relish,  and  profit  by  "reproof,"  and  even 
"  rebuke  ;  "  nor  permit  himself  to  grow  sore  and 
become  alienated  when  they  are  administered. 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  2i3 

The  Master,  knowing  the  needs  of  His  people, 
has  provided  explicit  commands  for  His  minis- 
ters :  — 

"  These  things  teach,  and  exhort,  and  rebuke  with 
all  authority.     Let  no  man  despise  thee." 

"  Put  them  in  mind  ..." 

"Preach  the  word,  .  .  .  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort, 
with  all  long-suffering  and  doctrine." 

The  church  should  never  be  used  as  a  mere 
comfortable  place  of  resort,  as  an  agency  of 
aesthetic  culture  or  gratification,  as  an  intel- 
lectual luxury,  or  as  a  carnal  convenience.  The 
church  is  God's  ordinance,  sacred  to  high  uses. 
It  should  be  sought  to  make  it  the  agency  of 
the  greatest  possible  spiritual  blessings.  It 
should  be  kept  in  such  condition  as  to  reach 
all  whom  God  gives  it  the  opportunity  of  reach- 
ing, whether  they  be  rich  or  poor,  learned  or 
illiterate.  Tastes  should  be  restrained,  personal 
enjoyment  deferred,  and  personal  preference 
held  in  check,  — in  all  matters  of  form  and  con- 
duct, —  whenever  such  self-sacrifice  would  justly 
give  the  church  a  wider  sweep  of  influence. 


244  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

It  was  not  designed  that  any  local  church 
should  be  used  as  the  property  of  its  members,  — 
open  to  additions  from  congenial  quarters,  but 
practically  closed  to  others.  Every  church  has 
a  mission;  and  God  only  can  give  its  direc- 
tion or  set  its  limits.  The  church  is  to  be  in 
readiness  to  do  all  that  lies  at  hand  to  be  done, 
if  any  self-sacrifice  will  accomplish  it. 

Further :  each  member  has  his  share  of  re- 
sponsibility for  the  presentation  of  truth  from 
the  pulpit,  and  the  cultui^e  and  maintenance  of 
integrity  in  the  pews.  These  things  should  be 
to  him  objects  of  desire,  prayer,  and  determina- 
tion. The  faithful  preaching  of  the  truth, — ■ 
even  in  the  midst  of  opposition,  —  and  the  main- 
tenance of  discipline  among  the  members,  should 
not  be  resented.  They  should  be  encouraged. 
Welcome  an  antagonism  which  speaks  of  fidelity 
amid  human  folly !  Let  us  exult  in  that  God  is 
pleased  to  make  His  sword  so  effective  in  our 
hands  as  to  create  antagonism.  The  hands  of 
ministers  and  officers  should  be  held  up  in  the 
face  of  such   opposition.     No  Christian  should 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  245 

flinch  in  time  of  trial,  of  dissension,  of  popular 
tumult.  Popularity  is  the  poorest  possible  test 
of  success. 

Aggressive  movements,  taking  various  direc- 
tions, operating  by  labors  and  by  gifts,  should 
ever  be  encouraged.  It  is  not  the  part  of  a 
disciple  of  Jesus  to  resent  appeals,  though  they 
be  frequent  and  urgent,  for  contributions  to 
benevolence.  No  follower  of  Him  who  said, 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,"  should  ignore  or 
depreciate  the  claims  of  Foreign  Missions.  Nor 
can  the  disciple  of  Him  who  always  went  about 
doing  good,  rightly  evade  a  call  to  any  task 
which  God  may  set  before  him,  or  strive  to 
withhold  the  church  when  its  corporate  effort 
is  required.  A  mission-school,  for  instance, 
may  be  a  heavy  burden  for  some  churches  to 
carry ;  yet  that  consideration  is  not  final  against 
founding  and  maintaining  it. 

The  member  should  eagerly  desire  the  church 
to  be  a  faithful  representative  of  Him  whose 
activity  was  ceaseless,  and  most  fatiguing ;  who 
preached  the  law  in  its   sternest  forms ;   who 


246  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

gave  the  most  minute  and  personal  delineations 
of  sin,  and  visited  it  with  the  most  scathing 
rebukes ;  who  upheld  the  truth  of  God,  preaching 
doctrines  most  humbling  to  the  human  heart,  and 
most  fruitful  in  exciting  anger  and  enmity ;  who 
was  found  in  company  with  all  classes  of  men, 
accommodating  himself  to  the  needs  of  each ; 
who  shrunk  from  no  sacrifice,  and  asked  no  self- 
ish ease,  when  engaged  in  his  Father's  business. 

The  spirit  of  the  Christian^  in  all  his  behavior 
in  the  church,  should  he  that  of  his  Master.  His 
speech,  his  conduct,  his  very  demeanor,  should 
at  every  point  betray  Christ-likeness. 

Fault-findings  with  the  brethren,  envy,  piques, 
pride,  self-seeking,  the  assertion  of  one's  rights, 
a  readiness  to  take  offence,  even  secret  dissatis- 
faction upon  being  or  seeming  ignored,  should 
find  no  place.  Let  every  evil  tendency  be  put 
down  with  a  strong  hand :  whoever  fails  in 
this  must  suffer  from  the  failure. 

Love  of  the  brethren  should  be  manifest. 
Patience,  pity,  sympathy,  counsel,  assistance, 
should   be   freely  rendered.     Cordial  greetings 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  247 

should  be  frequent:  they  should  not  be  with- 
held even  when  the  laws  of  Society  require  it. 
Christ's  claims  are  prior. 

The  rule  implied  in  the  words,  "  Then  they 
that  feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to  an- 
other," is  susceptible  of  very  wide  application. 
There  are  comparatively  few  churches  in  which 
every  member  should  not  feel  obliged  to  know 
every  other  member,  and  to  make  early  ac- 
quaintance with  every  one  who  enters  after  his 
own  reception.  The  acquaintance  and  the 
greeting  should  reach  out  beyond,  —  to  mere 
attendants,  and  to  others  who  are  in  the  poten- 
tial constituency  of  the  church.  And  the  fail- 
ure to  procure  frequent  assemblages  for  social 
purposes,  can  scarcely  pass  unrebuked. 

It  is  very  questionable  whether  the  stiffness 
begotten  by  the  habits  of  modern  society,  should 
be  permitted  to  repress  or  forbid  the  grasp  of 
the  hand  in  salutation.  It  certainly  is  now 
omitted  to  an  unjust  and  injurious  extent. 
Is  there  not  here  a  needed  token  of  brother- 
hood ?     "  We  are  many  members  of  one  body." 


248  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

"  And  He  gave  some  .  .  .  pastors  and  teachers,  for 
the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  ...  for  the  edifying  of 
the  body  of  Christ.  Till  we  all  come  .  .  .  unto  a 
perfect  man ;  .  .  .  that  we  henceforth  be  no  more 
children,  .  .  .  but  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  may 
grow  up  into  Him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  Head,  even 
Christ;  from  whom  the  whole  body,  fitly  joined  to- 
gether and  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  sup- 
plieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 
measure  of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body, 
unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in  love.  .  .  .  Let  all  bitter- 
ness, and  wrath,  and  anger,  and  clamor,  and  evil- 
speaking  be  put  away  from  you,  with  all  malice  ;  and 
be  ye  kind  one  to  another,  tender-hearted,  forgiving 
one  another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath  for- 
given you." 


IV. 

AMOXG  MEN. 

"  That  ye  may  be  blameless  and  harmless,  the  sons  of  God 
without  rebuke,  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse 
nation,  among  whom  ye  shine  as  lights  in  the  world."  —  Phil. 
ii.  15. 

■\T7ITHDRAWAL  from  a  busy  life,  in  order 
to  enter  the  service  of  God,  is  a  mistake. 
The  Master  said,  "  I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldst 
take  them  out  of  the  world."  Both  the  spirit 
and  the  explicit  command  of  the  gospel,  require 
the  presence  of  Christians  among  men ;  and  that 
in  their  true  character,  as  sons  of  God. 

"  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world ;  let  your  light  so 
shkie  among  men." 

"...  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse 
nation,  among  whom  ye  shine  as  lights  in  the  world." 

The  meaning  of  these  and  kindred  injunctions 
is  unmistakable.     The  Christian  is  to  transmit 
the   light,   the    thought,   the    spirit    of  Christ 
11* 


250  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

among  men  under  all  circumstances.  He  should 
never  act  for  self,  as  self.  He  is  jever  the  repre- 
sentative of  Christ,  even  when  engaged  in  the 
most  commonplace  affairs.  His  rights,  as  his 
own;  Ms  convenience,  comfort,  worldly  pros- 
perity, —  may  never  give  the  law  to  his  aim  or 
his  conduct.  All  he  does  should  be  done  in 
his  Master's  name,  with  His  direction,  and  in 
the  power  of  His  Spirit. 

A  young  Christian,  on  receiving  such  counsel 
as  this,  once  said  :  — 

"  That  is  all  very  well,  and  very  right  no 
doubt ;  but  a  man  doing  business  on  such 
principles  could  never  succeed  in  the  world  !  " 

That  depends,  in  part,  on  what  is  meant  by 
success.  Success  is  not  to  be  measured  by 
acres,  weighed  with  gold,  or  tested  by  human 
huzzas.  A  man  may  die  poor  and  unknown, 
after  passing  hfe  in  narrow  circumstances  and 
'unobserved  places,  and  yet  have  achieved  the 
grandest  success:  he  may  have  honored  his 
Master  in  his  appointed  place,  from  first  to  last. 
The   poor   cobbler   through   whose   unpolished 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  251 

words  Giiizot's  infidelity  was  overtlirown,  was  a 
successful  man ;  yet  he  probably  died  poor,  and 
his -name  is  not  held  in  remembrance.  Success 
is  pleasing  Christ ! 

But  it  is  not  true  that  a  close  walk  with  God 
prevents  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  influence,  or 
fame.  On  the  contrary,  the  surest  way  to  these 
ends,  and  to  the  sustained  possession  of  these 
gifts,  is  the  way  of  Light.  What  the  Christian 
gains,  he  is  apt  to  keep  ;  and  he  is  fitted  to 
enjoy  it  as  no  other  can  do. 

Men  have  curiously  blundered  into  the  notion 
that  Christianity  tends  to  make  a  man  a  simple- 
ton. It  is  rashly  inferred  that  a  severely  con- 
scientious Christian  is  liable  to  be  wheedled  at 
every  turn  because  he  is  commanded  to  think 
no  evil,  to  indulge  no  suspicions  of  men's  mo- 
tives, to  refrain  from  judging  men ;  that  he  is 
liable  to  be  imposed  on  because  he  dare  not 
assert  himself,  insist  upon  his  "  rights,"  resent 
injuries,  hate  his  enemies,  or  even  push  his  own 
interests ;  that  he  is  secure  of  poverty  because 
he  is  under  obligation  to  refrain  from  tricks  of 


252  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

trade,  from  violating  the  Sabbath  for  the  sake 
of  his  business,  from  receiving  gain  from 
schemes  involving  wickedness,  and  because  he 
is  under  peculiar  obligations  of  benevolence, 
and  of  charity  to  needy  debtors. 

"  I  must  suspect  every  man  I  deal  with,"  said 

Mr.  N ,  "  or  I  should  be  cheated  constantly, 

and  must  end  in  bankruptcy." 

Not  at  all.  It  is  only  because  business  is 
conducted  on  principles  and  by  methods  con- 
demned by  the  Scriptures,  that  there  is  any 
great  danger  of  such  disaster.  The  rules  and 
methods  of  business  —  and  the  restraint  upon 
the  personal  and  domestic  expenditures  which 
draw  upon  and  exhaust  the  business  —  should 
be  such  as  to  keep  men  safe.  If  men  were 
always  to  practise  the  frugality  which  the 
Scriptures  command,  if  they  would  resolutely 
force  all  expenditure,  personal  or  domestic, 
within  such  limits  as  the  business  will  legiti- 
mately allow,  the  vast  majority  of  the  anxieties 
of  which  men  complain  would  be  avoided,  and 
many  of  the  failures  averted.   "  We  must  live  !  " 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  253 

is  usually  a  dishonest  plea  for  unnecessary 
indulgence.  The  most  stringent  economy  is 
better  than  dishonesty ;  bread  and  water,  than 
bankruptcy. 

"  Have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh  "  is  an  in- 
junction tending  not  to  personal  suspicion  (save 
of  self),  but  to  a  rational  recognition  of  the 
fallen  state  of  all  men.  Hence  it  points  to  the 
need  of  such  general  methods  of  dealing,  as  will 
provide  for  the  manifest  conditions  of  safe  com- 
merce. 

The  Book  which  commands  men,  "  Be  ye 
wise  as  serpents ;  "  which  says,  "  The  simple 
believeth  every  word,  but  the  prudent  man 
looketh  well  to  his  going,"  and  "  confidence  in 
an  unfaithful  man  in  time  of  trouble,  is  like  a 
broken  tooth  and  a  foot  out  of  joint ; "  the 
Book  which  warns  against  complications,  against 
debts,  against  prodigality,  against  sloth ;  which 
says,  "  As  a  bird  that  wandereth  from  her  nest, 
so  is  a  man  that  wandereth  from  his  place,"  say- 
ing this  by  way  of  exhibiting  the  folly  of  neglect ; 
and  which  adds,  "Be  thou  diligent  to  know  the 


254  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

state  of  thy  flocks,  and  look  well  to  thy  herds  ;  '* 
the  Book  which  discountenances  suretyships, 
partnerships  with  vicious  men,  connection  with 
or  dependence  upon  an  iniquitous  vocation,  and 
which  in  many  other  directions  utters  repeated 
and  pungent  counsels  concerning  the  very  things 
in  which  lie  the  great  dangers  of  commercial 
life,  —  this  is  not  a  book  which  can  be  justly 
charged  with  making  men  simpletons  in  the 
business-world. 

The  difficulty  lies  in  not  wholly  obeying  the 
Scriptures.  Men  try  to  walk  at  the  same  time 
on  both  sides  of  the  chasm  which  separates  the 
paths  of  darkness  and  Light.  They  want  to  be 
"  a  little  worldly."  They  try  to  live  as  Cliris- 
tians,  yet  they  ignore  the  prudential  maxims, 
and  the  rich,  practical  wisdom,  which  Chris- 
tianity supplies,  while  they  employ  instead,  the 
wisdom  of  this  world.  Their  motto  is  "  Reli- 
gion is  religion,  and  business  is  business ! " 
"  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon,"  says  the 
Word.  If  men  will  not  entirely  break  connec- 
tion with   the  world,   they  may  expect  to  be 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  255 

dragged  down.  They  might  win  a  certain  "  suc- 
cess "  as  worldlings :  they  may  nobly  succeed  as 
Christians.  But  the  two  forms  and  methods  of 
success  will  not  coalesce  ;  each  mars  the  other. 

Ko-San-Lone,  a  Chinese  convert,  when  in 
America  on  a  visit,  was  impressed  with  the 
striking  similarity  between  the  style  of  living 
maintained  by  Christians,  and  that  of  men  of 
the  world.     Adverting  to  tliis  he  said  :  — 

"  When  the  disciples  in  my  country  come  out 
from  the  world,  they  come  clear  out !  " 

The  divergence  of  external  habit  may  not 
need  to  be  at  every  point  so  manifest  here,  as 
there ;  since,  with  us,  the  world  patterns  much 
after  Christian  forms ;  and  apes  our  progress ; 
yet  here,  as  in  China,  if  Christians  will  succeed, 
they  must  "  come  clear  out." 

So  long  as  men  are  content  to  be  implicated 
in  the  iniquitous  liquor-traffic,  however  re- 
motely ;  so  long  as  they  seek  wealth  by  drawing 
dividends  from  Sabbath-breaking  associations  ; 
so  long  as  their  prosperity  is  permitted  to  de- 
pend,   essentially    and    knowingly,    upon    the 


256  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

conduct  or  fortunes  of  men  engaged  in  any- 
nefarious  occupation,  or  of  men  known  to  be 
destitute  of  principle ;  so  long  as  merchants 
will  employ  dishonest  clerks  for  the  purpose  of 
"shoving"  their  wares,  and  clerks  serve  em- 
ployers whose  business  is  fundamentally  un- 
righteous ;  so  long  as  men  will  "  make  haste  to 
be  rich,"  taking  undue  risks,  trading  far 
beyond  their  capital  and  making  many  compli- 
cations, rather  than  choose  the  slower  path 
of  safety,  —  they  need  not  be  surprised  to  find 
themselves  coming  far  short  of  sustained  and 
satisfactory  success,  and  in  most  cases  they  may 
look  for  humiliating  failure  ;  while  also  their 
"  light "  will  yield  but  a  feeble  and  flickering 
illumination. 

A  mechanic  once  said  to  a  Chiistian  friend :  — 
"A  man  cannot  work  at  this  trade  without 
telling  lies.  Only  this  morning  I  promised  a 
man  that  I  should  do  his  work  this  week.  I  do 
not  see  how  I  can  get  it  done.  But  if  I  had  n^t 
promised,  I  should  have  lost  the  job.  What  is  a 
man  to  do  ?  " 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  257 

The  conversation  was  reported  to  one  wlio 
had  formerly  followed  the  same  occupation. 
He  said :  — 

"He  is  right !  and  that  is  why  I  quit  the 
business." 

And  he  who  had  left  his  trade  and  saved  his 
integrity,  was  in  less  straitened  circumstances 
than  he  who  had  kept  his  business  at  the  sacri- 
fice of  principle. 

If,  in  any  community,  any  line  of  business 
become  so  corrupted  that  honesty  is  quite 
crowded  out,  honest  men  have  no  choice  :  they 
must  go  out  also.  But  it  may  be  doubted 
whether,  in  most  cases  at  least,  honesty  would 
not  do  better  by  refusing  to  be  crowded  out,  by 
biding  its  time  and  reaping  its  fruits,  —  tardy 
perhaps, -but  rich. 

The  master  of  a  shop  once  said  :  — 

"There   is  no   use    trying  to  be  a  Christian 

in  this  business,  in  this  town,  while keeps 

a  shop.  He  will  cut  down  prices,  and  then  put 
in  poor  stuff !  I  would  sell  out  if  I  could ; 
meanwhile,  I  must  make  a  living." 

Q 


258  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

He  soon  sold  out ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  cer- 
tain that  lie  did  not  refuse  a  call  of  Providence 
to  do  a  needed  work,  —  to  reform  a  corrupted 
trade  throughout  an  entire  community,  by  stand- 
ing firm  himself.  Any  one  called  to  such  a 
task  will  find  himself  enabled,  perhaps  in  some 
surprising  way,  to  tide  over  the  evil  hour  until 
the  time  come  for  the  unmasking  and  dethrone- 
ment of  vice,  and  for  the  discovery  and  reward- 
ing of  honesty.  The  eagerness  to  "  get  on," 
however,  becomes  absorbing.  Christians  too 
often  forget  the  moral  ends  to  be  served  by 
their  vocation,  in  the  material  ends. 

Mr.  O ,  a  contractor,  was  a  severely  con- 
scientious man,  and  a  member  of  the  church. 
Entering  into  competition  for  employment,  he 
soon  found  inferior  work  so  much  in  vogue 
that  he  must  either  make  his  margins  for  profit 
small,  or  be  content  to  see  his  bids  rejected.  His 
competition  was  seldom  successful,  and  his  profits 
were  always. meagre.  Yet  he  did  not  desert  his 
chosen  vocation.  He  could  do  nothing  but  plod 
on,  submit  to  life  in  straitened  circumstances, 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  259 

make  sure  of  his  petty  savings,  and  present 
thorough  work.  In  thirty  years  he  had  achieved 
a  position  in  the  esteem  of  those  who  knew  him, 
such  as  few  reach.  His  church-membership  was 
honorable  and  useful ;  his  very  character  lent 
stability  to  the  body.  Except  in  grace,  liis 
attainments  were  limited.  His  voice  was  sel- 
dom heard  in  religious  address.  His  public 
prayers  were  uttered  with  a  stammering  tongue. 
He  was  not  given  to  aggressive  Christian  work. 
Yet  his  influence  on  behalf  of  the  Cross  grew 
steadily  stronger  among  all  who  knew  him. 
What  reformation  of  false  methods  of  business 
he  may  have  effected  in  the  line  of  his  vocation, 
cannot  be  told ;  his  own  habits  suffered  no 
change.  He  did  not  grow  rich  ;  but  he  became 
able  to  live  in  the  enjoyment  of  solid  comfort,  to 
provide  unusually  well  for  the  pleasure  and  the 
culture  of  his  household,  and  to  help  carry  many 
a  heavy  burden  of  the  church;  and  he  was 
blessed  with  one  of  the  most  delightfLd  families, 
—  every  member  of  it  a  Christian,  —  and  one  of 
the  happiest  and  most  attractive  homes,  to  be 
found  anywhere. 


260  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

With  slight  variations  in  unessential  particu- 
lars, this  minute  characterization  will  apply  to 
each  of  five  men  in  the  limited  acquaintance  of 
a  single  observer.  The  coincidence  is  signifi- 
cant: Christianity  tends  to  produce  just  such 
men ;  and  when  she  has  produced  them,  she  is 
apt  to  use  and  honor  them  in  very  similar  ways. 
There  are  doubtless  thousands  of  these  sturdy 
Christians  scattered  over  the  land,  "  unostenta- 
tious, quiet  men,  humble  mechanics,"  Avhose 
presence  imparts  new  sturdiness  to  almost  as 
many  churches,  and  whose  success  in  life  is  of 
the  most  satisfying  nature.  ' 

It  is  said,  apparently  on  good  authority,  that 
of  every  one  hundred  men  who  engage  in 
merchandising,  ninety-seven  sooner  or  later  fail. 
Yet  the  following  facts  are  vouched  for  on  au- 
thority equally  good:  In  a  few  small  and 
contiguous  communities  in  a  certain  narrow 
section  of  country,  there  are  nine  merchants 
who  have  prosecuted  their  calling  without  in- 
terruption, and  with  steady  success,  for  many 
years.     The   most  of  them  have  grown  gray. 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  261 

Some  of  them  have  practically  withdrawn  from 
active  life.  Each  began  life  poor,  and  has  be- 
come rich.  While  their  past  and  present  meth- 
ods obtain,  it  is  impossible  that  any  one  of 
them  should  fail.  Several  of  these  men  are 
widely  honored  office-bearers  in  the  church. 
Every  one  of  them  has  had  the  benefit  of  a 
thorough  Christian  training,  especially  in  re- 
spect of  those  matters  of  honest  and  honorable 
dealing  and  frugal  living  wliich  the  Scriptures 
so  frequently  and  so  forcibly  command.  Every 
one  of  them  is  noted  for  his  unflincliing  and 
unbroken  adherence  to  principle,  his  economy 
of  expenditure,  and  his  avoidance  of  the  excite- 
ment, complications,  over-trading  and  hasting  to 
be  rich,  which  are  characteristic  of  the  times. 
Not  one  of  them  is  penurious ;  nearly  all  are 
deemed  liberal;  the  most  of  them  are  termed 
"  open-handed  ;  "  and  two  or  three  seem  almost 
lavish  in  their  gifts  to  the  churches  and  the 
standard  agencies  of  benevolence. 

These  men   also  are  but  instances  of  what 
Christianity  is  everywhere  producing ;  and  their 


262  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

lives  are  but  a  few  of  the  hosts  of  real  and  apt 
illustrations  of  the  rich  material  success  which 
is  perfectly  consonant  with  a  minute  observance 
of  God's  law,  which  is  apt  to  be  produced  by 
that  observance,  and  which  is  always  best 
maintained  and  most  fully  enjoyed  by  those 
who  have  thus  legitimately  achieved  it. 

It  is  a  slander  upon  our  holy  religion  to 
charge  it  with  making  men  idiots  and  blun- 
derers, as  some  by  implication  do.  There  is  no 
keener  shrewdness  than  that  which  godliness 
fosters,  tends  to  produce,  and  very  often  does 
produce,  —  ever  tempering  it  with  kindliness, 
and  denying  it  the  sting  of  an  animating  sel- 
fishness. 

There  is  no  other  such  firmness  in  the  emer- 
gencies of  life,  and  against  the  enticements  of 
illusory  schemes,  as  that  which  comes  by  the 
transfusion  of  the  will  of  God  into  the  human 
brain,  and  which  first  operates  by  enabling  its 
possessor  to  say,  resolutely.  No  !  to  every  temp- 
tation to  sin,  and  to  every  suggestion  of  an  un- 
worthy principle  of  action.     There  is  no  other 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  263 

such  "grit,"  as  that  wliich  deep-seated  right- 
eousness tends  to  develop ;  no  other  such 
enterprise,  such  energy,  as  are  attained  by  him 
who  hears  from  his  Lord  the  word,  "Not 
slothful  in  business,  .  .  .  serving  the  Lord," 
and,  "  Seest  thou  a  man  dihgent  in  his  busmess  ? 
he  shall  stand  before  kings ;  he  shall  not  stand 
before  mean  men."  There  is  no  other  such  pru- 
dence, as  that  of  him  who  knows  he  is  a  stew- 
ard of  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  determined  to  please 
Him  at  any  cost,  and  who  hears  Him  say,  "  A 
prudent  man  foreseeth  the  evil,  and  hideth 
himself."  There  is  no  steadiness,  whether  of 
standing  or  of  aim,  equal  to  his  whose  feet  rest 
consciously  upon  the  Rock  of  Ages,  and  whose 
eye  is  fixed  upon  the  hope  of  the  righteous  "  at 
His  appearing."  There  is  no  vigor  like  his 
whose  life  is  ever  renewed  by  a  flow  from  the 
strength  of  the  Lord  of  life ;  no  keenness  of 
vision  like  his  who  walks  in  the  Light ;  no 
other  such  unyielding  pertinacity  of  purpose, 
as  his  whose  devotion  is  daily  baptized  and 
renewed  by  the  Holy   Ghost;   no   other  such 


264  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

resolute  daring  —  wlien  the  emergency  requires 
it — as  his  who  always  dares  do  what  God 
requires ;  no  wisdom  in  dealing  with  men,  like 
that  which  comes  from  Him  who  knows  the 
nature  of  men.  There  is  no  breadth  of  view  — 
a  thing  in  some  sort  so  essential  to  success  in 
human  vocations — equal  to  that  acquired  by 
walking  with  Him  who  views  all  things ;  no 
other  such  fulness  and  readiness  of  resource,  in 
the  times  of  trial  which  try  the  souls  of  business 
men,  as  that  of  him  who  is  able  to  draw  in  a 
moment  upon  the  resources  of  the  Infinite  One ; 
no  other  such  uncompromising  and  successful 
maintenance  of  one's  rights,  as  that  of  him  who 
cares  notliing  for  his  rights  as  such,  but  holds 
them  sacred  for  his  Master,  and  who  pushes  or 
maintains  them  only  when  duty  requires,  "  for 
His  sake  ;  "  as  when  Paul,  in  prison  at  Philippi, 
—  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  cause,  —  stood  reso- 
lutely upon  the  dignity  of  his  Roman  citizen- 
ship, until  the  rulers  became  alarmed  and  he- 
sought  him  to  depart. 

And  there  is  no  other  such  rich  enjoyment  of 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  265 

"success,"  as  that  of  him  who  has  sought  it 
solely  that  he  might  lay  it  at  the  Master's  feet, 
laboring  for  and  confidently  expecting  His 
approval. 

In  a  word :  abiding  in  Christ,  and  the  abiding 
of  His  words  in  the  soul,  tend,  not  to  make  men 
simpletons,  but  to  make  men  wise ;  not  to  make 
them  failures,  but  to  make  them  eminently  suc- 
cessful ;  and,  above  all,  not  to  leave  them  dissat- 
isfied and  restless  during  the  struggle,  and  even 
after  it  is  over,  but  to  produce  in  them  peace 
and  contentment  meanwhile,  and  afterward  to 
crown  them  with  the  richest  sense  of  triumph 
and  satisfaction  in  view  of  what  Grrace  has 
enabled  them  to  achieve.  The  Christian  life  is 
the  highest  style  of  life,  in  every  good  sense  of 
the  term. 

As  statesmen,  Joseph  and  Daniel  were  mar- 
vels of  success ;  their  success  came  through  the 
wisdom  they  obtained  direct  from  God,  through 
their  unflinching  adlierence  to  principle,  and 
through  their  unyielding  determination  to  serve 
"the  God  of  heaven,"  openly,  even  —  in  Dan- 

12 


266  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

iel's  case  —  in  the  face  of  savage  and  relentless 
opposition. 

Rural  life  has  seen  no  grander  success  than 
that  of  Abraham,  and  no  more  ignominious  and 
astounding  failure  than  that  of  Lot.  Yet,  at 
the  turning-point  of  life,  it  was  Lot  who  grasped 
at  —  and  gained  —  manifest  and  unsurpassed 
worldly  advantage,  while  Abraham  as  willingly 
relinquished  it.  But  the  worldly  advantage  was 
at  the  expense  of  evil  companionships,  and 
the  consequent  deterioration  of  character  and 
looseness  of  life. 

The  greatest  trials  through  which  Rebekah 
and  Jacob  were  called  to  pass,  were  the  direct 
result  of  their  use  of  worldly  methods  to  secure 
a  rightful  privilege  and  prerogative. 

The  unparalleled  successes  of  Moses,  were  all 
gained  by  a  rigid  following  of  minute  and  imme- 
diate directions  from  God.  And  yet  men  say 
that  such  a  life  makes  a  man  a  puppet!  If 
Moses  was  a  puppet,  the  estate  is  dignified 
beyond  reproach,  by  the  greatness  he  achieved, 
the  merit  he  displayed,  and  the  results  he  won. 


WALKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  267 

Probably,  all  things  considered,  the  most 
successful  general  —  and  certainly  tlie  man 
whose  name  and  memory  are  held  in  highest 
esteem  and  warmest  affection  —  in  the  armies 
of  the  South  in  our  late  civil  war,  was  one,  the 
secret  of  whose  vigor,  energy,  daring,  and  reso- 
luteness, in  no  small  part  lay  in  his  daily  walk- 
ing with  God ;  whose  success  could  not  have 
been  so  rich,  but  for  the  maintenance  of  a  pure 
conscience  on  all  occasions.  General  Thomas  J. 
Jackson  was  a  man  of  might,  because  he  knew 
and  utilized  "  the  secret  of  the  Lord,"  and 
walked  accordingly.  Even  his  nickname,  Stone- 
ivall,  fitly  characterizes  the  rocky  firmness  which 
Grace  is  wont  to  impart  to  the  human  will. 

The  late  Commodore  Foote,  U.S.N.,  was  a 
devoted  Christian,  steady  and  sturdy  in  his 
maintenance  of  the  Christian  character,  in  his 
devotion  to  Christian  ends  throughout  his  official 
life,  —  in  a  sphere  from  which  Christian  ends 
are  commonly  supposed  to  be  excluded,  —  and 
in  his  use  of  life  for  his  Master's  service  alone. 
It  is   remarkable   that  his   promotion   was,  in 


268  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

several  instances,  distinctly  traceable  to  acts 
which  Conscience  bade  him  perform,  against 
the  dictates  of  worldly  wisdom,  and  in  the  face 
of  the  gravest  opposition. 

Christ  makes  men  men,  —  not  blunderers, 
simpletons,  machines,  or  bigots,  —  such  men  as 
the  world  needs  and  will  honor,  —  however 
tardily ;  men  who  are  needed  "  among  men," 
in  every  honorable  vocation;  men  who  will 
succeed  in  life,  and  whose  success  will  bring 
them  a  sweet  satisfaction,  and  the  approval  of 
Him  who  has  lovingly  commanded  his  dis- 
ciples :  — 

"  That  ye  may  be  blameless,  and  harmless,  the  sons 
of  God  without  rebuke,  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  and 
perverse  nation,  among  whom  ye  shine  as  lights  iq 
the  world." 


PART  FIFTH. 


WORKING  IN  THE   LIGHT. 
(Christian  Labor.) 


Son,  go  WORK  to-day  in  my  vineyard."  —  Matt.  xxi.  28. 


I.  Responsibility. 

II.    HiNDERANCES. 

III.  Motives. 
rV.  What  to  do. 


"  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  laborers  are  few ; 
pray  ye,  therefore,  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  He  would  send 
forth  laborers  into  His  harvest."  —  Matt.  ix.  37,  38. 


I. 

RESPONSIBILITY. 

"And  he  called  his  ten  servants,  and  delivered  them  ten 
pounds,  and  said  imto  them.  Occupy  till  I  come." — Luke 
xix.  13. 

T]|^HEN  Saul  of  Tarsus  became  a  follower  of 
Jesus,  while  he  yet  lay  upon  the  ground, 
his  first  words  were :  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do  ?  " 

This  was  not  the  anxious  inquiry  of  one  in 
search  of  safety,  and  addressing  men,  as  was  that 
of  the  Philippian  jailer,  "  Men  and  brethren, 
what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  "  It  was  the  eager 
question  of  one  who  knew  his  salvation,  who 
recognized  the  voice  of  his  Master  and  Lord, 
and  whose  first  thought  was  of  serving  Him. 

It  is  related  that  an  English  nobleman,  trav- 
elling on  the  Mediterranean,  was  once  passenger 
on  a  ship  manned  by  rude  men  and  sometimes 
employed  in  schemes  of  iniquity.  He  discov- 
ered a  fellow-passenger  who  seemed  disconso- 


272  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

late.  It  was  ascertained  that  he  was  a  slave, 
destined  to  the  most  barbarous  service  in  Mo- 
rocco. The  Englishman  found  the  captor, 
brought  him  face  to  face  with  the  slave,  de- 
manded that  a  ransom  be  named,  and  paid  it,  — 
£200.  The  disheartened  captive  could  scarcely 
realize  his  good  fortune.  After  a  moment,  out 
of  liis  confusion  there  dawned  upon  him  a  sense 
of  his  freedom  and  of  the  kindness  that  had 
been  shown  him ;  whereupon  he  prostrated  him- 
self at  the  feet  of  the  nobleman,  and  said :  "  I 
thank  you  !  Every  drop  of  blood  in  my  body 
thanks  you !     I  will  be  your  servant  for  ever  !  " 

A  Christian  who  had  long  walked  in  darkness, 
having  at  length  been  led  to  a  discovery  of  the 
nature  and  security  of  his  standing  before  God, 
in  Christ  Jesus,  said  :  — 

"I  cannot  but  love  Him.  "Who  would  not 
love  the  matchless  Jesus  if  he  only  knew  Him  ? 
How  different  I  find  loving  Him,  from  merely 
reverencing  and  respecting  Him  !  How  differ- 
ent to  love  Himself,  from  loving,  in  a  kind  of 
way,  his  religion !  " 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  273 

"  Oh,  for  such  love,  let  rocks  and  hills 
Their  lasting  silence  break ; 
And  all  harmonious  human  tongues 
The  Saviour's  praises  speak  !  " 

"  A  soul  redeemed  demands  a  life  of  praise  ; 
Hence  the  complexion  of  its  future  days." 

This  is  the  argument  of  the  apostle  when  he 
says : — 

"  I  beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  hy  the  mercies  of 
God^  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  Hving  sacrifice,  holy, 
acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service." 

It  is  reasonable  both  to  ask,  and  to  expect, 
such  full  consecration  and  such  eager  devotion ; 
because  the  soul  is  bought  with  blood,  redeemed 
from  terrific  and  eternal  woe,  and  unspeakably 
blessed  and  exalted  in  the  Redeemer. 

This  devotion  sometimes  becomes  a  marvel. 
Indeed,  the  words  "  a  living  sacrifice,"  imply 
that  it  should  always  pass  the  bounds  of  calcu- 
lating service.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  expect 
the  Christian  to  become  "  a  man  of  one  purpose, 
the  glory  of  God ;  a  fool,  and  content  to  be  a 
fool,  for  Christ ;  a  madman,  and  content  to  be 
reckoned  a  madman,  for  Christ."  * 

*  Edward  Irving. 
12*  B 


274  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Paul  was  twice  accused  of  madness.  And  no 
wonder ;  for  such  was  his  absorbing  zeal,  that  he 
counted  it  joy  to  suffer  for  Christ's  sake  :  — 

"  Therefore  I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in  re- 
proaches, in  necessities,  in  persecutions,  in  distresses  for 
Christ's  sake." 

"  In  stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons  more  frequent, 
in  deaths  oft.  Of  the  Jews  five  times  received  I  forty- 
stripes  save  one.  Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once 
was  I  stoned,  thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck,  a  night  and 
a  day  have  I  been  in  the  deep :  in  journeyings  often, 
in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by  mine 
own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils 
in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the 
sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren ;  in  weariness  and 
painfulness ;  in  watchings  often ;  in  hunger  and 
thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness.  ...  If 
I  must  needs  glory,  I  will  glory  in  the  things  which 
concern  mine  infirmities." 

When  charged  with  folly  in  all  this,  the  apos- 
tle's sublime  and  simple  answer  was :  "  The  love 
of  Christ  eonstraineth  us." 

Would  that  we  had  thousands  of  such  mad- 
men^ fired  with  a  consuming  zeal,  fed  on  the 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  275 

"  matchless  love,"  and  careless  of  consequences 
in  the  Master's  service.  The  church  needs 
them  ;  the  souls  of  the  dying  need  them  ;  and 
the  cause  of  Christ  languishes  because  we  have 
so  few  of  them.  Let  the  record  and  the  appeals 
of  Paul,  enter  the  chambers  of  our  Cliristian 
common  sense.  Strip  from  them  the  false 
glamour  of  distance ;  let  the  records  have  the 
force  of  placing  the  apostle  by  the  side  of  the  or- 
dinary Christian  of  to-day ;  let  him  be  regarded 
as  but  one  of  us,  as  he  was,  —  a  sinner  saved  by 
grace.  What  was  reasonable  for  Paul,  is  rea- 
sonable for  Christians  now.  What  zeal  was  de- 
manded of  him,  is  demanded  of  us ;  what  repres- 
sion or  denial  of  it  would  have  been  treachery  in 
him,  is  treachery  still. 

It  is  not  merely  that  gratitude  calls  to  this 
service.  The  Christian  is  His  representative, 
and  the  partaker  of  His  nature  who  said :  "  The 
zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up ; "  "  My 
meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me,  and 
to  finish  His  work."  The  position  and  privilege 
of  one  who  holds  this  place,  are  such  that  he 


276  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

has  no  choice,  in  honor.     He  should  be  all  this 
—  or  nothing ! 

The  humblest  believer  is  a  light-bearer ;  is  a 
representative  of  Him  who  proclaimed  Himself 
the  Light  of  the  world.  He  is  a  servant,  left 
upon  the  estate  in  the  absence  of  its  Lord, 
charged  with  its  management  and  enlargement 
until  He  return.  He  is  one  of  those  to  whom 
were  given  the  words  :  — 

"Ye  are  my  witnesses." 

"What  I  tell  you  in  darkness,  that  speak  ye  in 
light;  and  what  ye  hear  in  the  ear,  that  preach  ye 
upon  the  house-tops." 

"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature." 

The  Christian  is  set  for  the  defence  of  the 
Cross ;  for  the  maintenance  of  the  truth ;  for 
the  proclamation  of  the  help  and  healing  which 
the  Cross  affords.  He  is  a  son  of  God,  in  imme- 
diate and  loving  fellowship  with  his  Elder 
Brother,  and  with  his  Heavenly  Father :  as 
such,  he  has  Christ's  place  to  fill,  and  Christ's 
work  to  do  I 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  277 

This  responsibility  cannot  be  evaded.  One 
may  say  :  "  I  bad  ratber  be  a  doorkeeper ;  I  do 
not  aspire  to  tbe  position  of  a  son  of  God,  a  rep- 
resentative of  Cbrist.  I  do  not  claim  such  joy, 
so  ricb  a  salvation.  I  have  not  asked  so  much 
as  tbis  from  Cbrist." 

No  matter.  Tbere  is  no  cboice.  Tbere  is  no 
otber  position  provided  for  tbe  Cbristian.  Tbere 
is  no  less  ricb,  or  less  complete  salvation  offered. 
It  is  not  bumility,  but  indolence,  tbat  seeks  tbe 
escape ;  and  tbere  is  no  escape.  One  stands  in 
tbis  precise  position,  —  side  by  side  witb  Paul,  — 
or  be  does  not  stand  in  Cbrist.  Tbe  dilemma 
is  thrust  upon  tbe  soul,  —  tbe  "high  calling," 
or  no  Cbrist !  Tbere  is  no  tiers  etat^  no  third 
estate.  Tbere  is  ruin,  utter  and  terrific  ;  and 
there  is  salvation,  glorious  and  complete,  fully 
bestowed  tbe  instant  Cbrist  is  accepted.  There 
is  ''the  service  of  sin,"  and  tbere  is  "  the  service 
of  righteousness."  The  man  must  make  his 
choice,  here  ;  and  abide  by  it ! 

"...  because  we  thus  judge,  that  if  One  died  for 
all,  then  were  all  dead;  and  that  He  died  for  all,  that 


278  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

they  which  live,  should  not  henceforth  live  unto  them- 
selves, but  unto  Him  which  died  for  them,  and  rose 
again." 

As  for  those  who  do  not  so  live,  it  can  only  be 
said  that  they  lead  an  inconsistent  life  :  "  they 
are  rich,  but  they  live  like  beggars." 

So  long  as  our  Lord  delay  his  return,  all 
Christians  have  His  work  to  do :  each  one  has 
some  part  in  it.  It  was  not  meant  that  all  the 
time  and  thought  of  any  should  be  taken  up  with 
the  ordinary  cares  and  pursuits  of  life.  It  was 
not  designed  that  a  chosen  few  should  have 
the  privilege  of  exhibiting  the  power  of  love  to 
spur  to  action,  and  to  sustain  in  endurance  ;  the 
privilege  of  zeal  for  God's  house,  of  sjjreading 
the  honor  of  the  Cross,  of  defending  the  truth 
and  winning  souls. 

After  the  walk,  comes  work :  after  living  for 
Christ,  comes  laboring  for  Him.  Because  a  war- 
fare is  upon  us.  Good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ 
are  needed  at  many  a  beleaguered  point.  The 
truth  needs  myriad  tongues  to  utter  it.  The 
Cross  needs  myriad  hands,  to  raise  it  aloft  and 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  279 

to  hold  it  up.  "  The  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which 
is  the  word  of  God,"  waits  to  be  wielded  by 
myriad  arms.  And  every  Christian  is  urged, 
and  enjoined,  to  take  this  sword,  —  having  first 
"•put  on  the  armor  of  Light." 


II. 

HINDERANCES. 

**  There  is  a  lion  in  the  way ;  a  lion  is  in  the  streets."  —  Prov. 
xxvi.  18. 

"  T  WOULD,  but  .  .  .  " 

The  soul  that  is  called  to  work  for  Christ, 
is  almost  certain  to  stumble  upon  some  hinder- 
ance.  "  There  is  a  lion  in  the  way ;  a  lion  is  in 
the  streets,"  is  a  frequent  cry.  But  it  is  the  cry 
of  one  who  has  not  gone  boldly  up  to  the  lion. 
The  lion  is  there,  but  he  is  chained  and  tooth- 
less, —  able  to  frighten  by  his  roar  when  one  is  at 
a  distance,  but  unable  to  hurt  when  one  draws 
near.  The  "  mountains  of  difficulty "  are  but 
molehills,  relatively :  God's  provisions  of  help 
rise  towering  above  them.  The  clouds  which 
obscure  the  road,  and  frighten  the  inexpert 
traveller,  are  but  fog  and  vapor  :  they  will  break 
and  vanish  beneath  the  beams  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness.     Light  makes  all  things  plain. 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  281 

In  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  the  hinderances, 
at  the  worst,  cannot  be  great  enough,  grievous 
enough,  or  sufficiently  numerous,  to  prevent 
continuous  and  even  joyful  service.  God  makes 
no  vain  calls  upon  His  children,  lays  on  them 
no  impossible  requirements :  "  I  can  do  all  things, 
through  Christ,  which  strengtheneth  me." 

God  may  hedge  up  the  way  in  certain  direc- 
tions, but  He  leaves  it  open  elsewhere.  The 
problem  is  to  find  where.  The  certainty  is  that 
there  is  somewhere  a  gap  in  the  hedge.  It 
is  true  that  "they  also  serve  who  only  stand 
and  wait ;  "  but  in  such  cases  the  waiting  is  im- 
posed, not  voluntary  ;  and  the  very  repression  of 
desire  which  it  produces,  causes  the  emission 
of  a  grateful  perfume,  as  from  a  trodden  flower, 
of  which  the  Master  just  then  has  need,  and 
wliich  He  will  put  to  noble  use.  Is  the  soul 
that  shrinks  back,  waiting  to  be  bruised  and 
crushed  ? 

Hinderances  are  a  help !  They  sometimes 
hedge  up  a  way  which,  for  the  soul  in  question, 
would  lead  to  unseen  dangers,  and  perhaps  grave 


282  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

disaster.  The  Christian  needs  to  seek  another 
avenue  of  endeavor,  not  to  turn  his  back  on  all. 

Sometimes,  however,  it  is  designed  that  they 
be  overcome.  In  such  cases,  the  effort  to  over- 
come serves  to  develop  a  vigor  of  virtue  which 
will  stand  its  possessor  in  good  stead  on  other 
fields  and  other  days. 

No  one  should  say,  "I  cannot,"  when  God 
calls.  "As  thy  days,  so  shall  thy  strength 
be."  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  ;  for  my 
strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness."  These 
are  God's  promises.  Can  God  lie  ?  In  one's 
self,  one  is  —  nothing  ;  in  Christ,  —  every  thing 
that  God  requires.  One's  own  strength  is 
weakness ;  and  therein  is  God's  strength  "  made 
perfect."  "  Most  gladly,  therefore,  will  I  rather 
glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ 
may  rest  upon  me." 

There  are  entanglements.  Some  of  these  must 
be  broken,  at  whatever  cost.  One  should  count 
the  cost  before  choosing  Christ  as  King :  there 
is  no  room  for  calculation  afterwards.  God's 
gift  was  boundless.     It  calls  for   unhesitating, 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  283 

uncalculating  devotion,  in  return.     Any  thing 
less  is  unworthy  and  irrational. 

Some  entanglements  must  be  borne.  It  will 
not  always  do  to  cut  the  Gordian  knot :  honor 
and  honesty  may  prevent.  Where  any  interest 
beyond  one's  own  is  involved,  to  sacrifice  it 
ruthlessly  for  the  sake  of  "serving  Christ,^'  is 
apt  to  be  sheer  selfishness.  Sometimes  the 
longing  for  a  special  or  a  wider  "field,"  proves 
to  be  a  foolish,  boyish,  carnal  passion,  and  it 
needs  the  imperative  hinderance  to  chasten  and 
restrain  it.  Some  ardent  young  men  and  women 
have  been  hindered  from  becoming  Foreign  Mis- 
sionaries,—  without  the  least  damage  to  the 
heathen !  There*  is  every  now  and  then  a  tidal 
wave  of  influence  bearing  men  on  uncalled  into 
some  special  channel  of  Christian  work :  Satan 
often  produces  manias  in  the  church.  Most 
young  Christians  are  at  some  time  or  other 
tempted  to  a  great  wrong  under  the  specious 
and  false  plea  of  "  giving  up  all  for  Christ." 
These  are  counterfeits  of  Christian  enthusiasm. 
True  Christian  madness  is  methodical  and  judi- 


284  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

cious ;  it  waits  for  God's  call ;  it  does  not  spring 
from  "gush,"  but  from  a  long  study,  a  broad 
wisdom,  and  a  deep-seated  conviction ;  so  that 
one  is  driven  to  the  self-sacrifice,  —  somewhat  as 
was  Paul  when  he  said,  "  Wo  is  me  if  I  preach 
not  the  gospel." 

The  most  are  wanted  for  the  common  walks 
of  life,  to  adorn  them  and  make  them  fra- 
grant with  "  a  sweet  savor  of  Christ."  They 
should  find  room  for  work  close  by  the  side 
of  their  daily  toil.  Only  the  few  are  called 
to  extraordinary  paths :  it  is  well  that  im- 
perative hinderances  exist  for  others.  Entan- 
glements of  home,  of  kindred,  of  debt,  and  the 
like,  are  apt  to  be  binding,  to  be  the  entan- 
glements of  honor  and  honesty.  And  they  are 
blessings.  They  are  not  meant  to  prevent  all 
toil,  but  only  mistaken  effort.     Look  elsewhere. 

Weakness  sometimes  hinders.  It  is  well : 
"  Weakness  is  strength !  "  Go  forward.  Draw 
upon  the  resources  of  the  Infinite  One. 

When  weakness  is  urged  as  an  excuse  for  in- 
action, the  plea  is  a  covert  falsehood,  so  subtle 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  285 

that  lie  who  makes  it  is  himself  deceived  by  it. 
Whoever  feels  his  weakness  as  it  is,  despairs  of 
self,  leans  wholly  on  his  Lord,  and  is  immedi- 
ately strengthened  up  to  his  full  need.  He  who 
feels  strong  enough  to  stand  still,  but  not  strong 
enough  to  go  forward,  does  not  know  how  weak 
he  is !  He  cannot  stand  still :  he  needs  God's 
strength  to  hold  him  ;  and,  having  that,  he  has 
all,  —  he  can  advance  ! 

Weakness  is  a  legitimate  plea  only  against 
that  to  which  God  does  not  call ;  and,  if  one 
determine  that  any  specific  request  from  men 
for  service  is  not  "  of  God,"  there  rests  on  him 
the  immediate  responsibility  of  finding  some 
other  line  of  labor ;  for  God  calls  every  Chris- 
tian to  do  something.  "  Go  work,"  is  universal : 
"And  to  every  man  his  work." 

Evil  habits  hinder  many.  There  is  but  one 
thing  for  such  persons  to  do  :  these  habits  must 
be  ground  to  atoms  beneath  the  heel  of  sacred 
resolve,  planted  upon  them  by  the  resistless  will 
of  God,  which  is  the  believer's  resort  and 
strength.      The    task    is    possible.     Even    the 


286  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

drunkard  may  reform.  No  evil  liabit  is  invin- 
cible, in  the  presence  of  Grace. 

The  lack  of  habit  restrains  some,  —  from  public 
prayer ;  from  address  ;  from  giving  the  word  of 
counsel  or  of  comfort  in  private  ;  from  social 
duty  in  the  Master's  name.  The  habit  should 
be  cultivated.  The  means  are  at  our  disposal. 
Especially,  "  practice  makes  perfect."  Small 
success  may  be  expected  at  first,  but  pride  must 
bow.  The  day  of  small  things  must  be  endured : 
it  cannot  be  leaped.  One  must  begin  with  lit- 
tle efforts,  attended  perhaps  with  humiliating 
blunders.  There  is  no  growth  without  begin- 
ning. "Despise  not  the  day  of  small  things," 
nor  make  that  "  day  "  perpetual.  "  Attain." 
"  Press  forward." 

Human  opposition  sometimes  arises.  "  All 
that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer 
persecution."  We  share  with  Christ  the  world's 
antagonism.  Even  one's  own  friends,  perhaps 
his  pastor  or  his  brethren  in  the  church,  may 
rise  in  opposition  to  his  purest  endeavors  for 
the  Master. 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHI .  28T 

Nevertheless,  "  we  ought  to  obey  God  rather 
than  men."  If,  upon  revision  of  the  scheme  in 
the  hxrger  light  afforded  by  the  opposition,  the 
call  of  God  still  seem  plain,  let  the  difficulty 
but  provoke  a  sterner  resolve  and  a  more  per- 
sistent execution.  The  opposition  will  call  the 
more  attention  to  the  work,  and  perhaps  make 
the  achievement  more  fruitful. 

It  may  not  be  designed  that  achievement 
result.  The  endeavor  may  be  irresistibly 
stopped  at  a  certain  point.  Still,  if  called  for 
up  to  that  point,  it  will  be  used.  God  delights 
in  using  our  fragments.  He  seldom  permits 
men  to  round  off  their  work  to  completeness. 
John  Baptist  Avas  stopped  :  as  then  judged,  his 
work  was  a  fragment ;  but  what  a  glorious 
fragment ! 

Sometimes  the  success  of  the  opposition  is 
designed,  even  against  the  endeavor  which  was 
also  designed:  God  employs  opposing  forces. 
In  such  cases,  the  pent-up  resolve  is  sure  to  find 
vent  in  some  other  channel,  perhaps  in  some 
strange,  unique,  marvellously  successful  work. 


288  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

John  Bunyan  was  called  to  preach,  was  effect- 
ually stopped  midway  —  by  prison-bars.  But 
the  constraining  love  still  boiled  in  his  veins; 
preach  he  would,  —  if  not  with  the  tongue,  by 
the  pen.  Hence  "  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress," an  achievement  of  success  in  the  service 
of  Christ  which,  in  its  line,  probably  stands  with- 
out a  parallel  since  the  days  of  the  apostles. 
"  Surely  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee." 

It  sometimes  seems  to  the  worker  that  God 
Himself  is  against  him.  He  seems  to  thrust 
obstacles  in  the  way  — "  almost  wantonly," 
wails  the  weak  soul.  He  thwarts  plans  which 
had  been  prayerfully  and  carefully  matured. 
Sometimes  when  success  seems  near,  when  hope 
is  highest,  when  patient  toil  seems  about  to  reap 
fruition,  and  joy  stands  waiting  just  at  the  birth, 
He  hurls  the  choice  design  to  earth  in  ruins. 
The  morbid  fancy  suggests  that  He  appears  to 
take  delight  in  thwarting  the  holiest  human 
ambitions. 

Not  so.  The  cherished  scheme  might  have 
wrought  grievous  disaster,  to  its  operator  or  to 


-       WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  289 

others.  It  might  have  restrained  the  arm  from 
something  more  needful  or  more  fitting.  And 
in  God's  hands  the  unsightly  ruins,  the  vision 
of  which  gives  such  exquisite  pain,  will  be  seen 
to  take  on  a  beauty  all  their  own.  There  is  no 
harshness  here  :  God  is  not  unfeeling,  nor  un- 
wise. His  eye  falls  lovingly  on  the  intended 
service,  and  even  on  the  shattered  fragments 
of  the  cherished  design.  His  Providence  will 
make  glorious  use  of  what  seems  useless  now, 
and  wasted. 

The  temptations  of  the  Adversary  hinder. 
These  are  hinderances  of  quite  another  sort. 
They  sometimes  prove  the  destruction  of  the 
whole  fabric  of  a  useful  life,  and  leave  the 
soul  itself  prostrate  and  powerless  beneath 
the  ruins. 

There  are  temptations  to  indolence  ;  to  peev- 
ishness over  ingratitude,  or  over  apparent  want 
of  success  or  of  appreciation ;  to  sensual  indul- 
gence ;  to  prostitution  of  the  Lord's  work  to 
purposes  of  ambition.  These,  and  others  akin 
to  them,  are  grave  and  common  dangers.  Such 
13  s 


290  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

temptations  appeal  with  Satanic  shrewdness  to 
our  weakness.  Their  suggestions  seem  often 
so  fairly  in  line  with  our  work ;  they  come  so 
stealthily,  in  the  disguise  of  "  the  speech  of 
Salem,"  —  that  many  a  Christian  is  wrecked  by 
them  ere  he  is  aware.  He  need  not  be  wrecked : 
he  always  knows  something  is  amiss,  before 
the  destruction  comes ;  and  yet,  now  as  ever, 
'•Facilis  descensus  Averni ; "  the  steeps  are 
smooth,  and  the  foot  that  ventures  on  them  is 
sure  to  slip. 

There  is  constant  need  of  searching  scrutiny, 
lest  self  creep  in  among  our  motives,  to  poison 
the  soul  and  vitiate  its  labors.  "  Watch  and 
pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation  ;  the 
spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak." 
"  We  have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels." 

One  may  always  know  the  prevailing  "  fash- 
ion "in  the  Adversary's  kingdom,  by  its  fruit, 
the  mania  of  the  day.  In  our  time,  it  is  a  false 
charity  for  the  world.  This  results  in  a  toning 
down  of  the  Gospel  to  suit  men,  and  a  propping 
up  of  the  world  to  an  apparent  level  with  the 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  291 

kingdom  ;  so  that  the  sinews  of  evangelistic 
effort  are  cut :  — 

"  Cui  bono  ?  Why  shall  we  be  so  eager  about 
the  destiny  of  men  ?  God  will  take  care  of  that : 
men  are  very  well.  The  future  is  distant : 
ttle  present  is  upon  us.  Be  practical !  Let  us 
see  to  the  culture  of  men." 

No  worse  damage  can  be  done  to  man,  than 
is  thus  done.  The  pure  Gospel  is  the  sinner's 
best  friend.  The  unwelcome  truth  is  what  he 
most  needs  to  hear.  The  sad  facts  in  his  case 
should  be  plainly  stated,  not  concealed.  They 
are  false  friends,  lying  friends,  who  "  prophesy 
smooth  words  "  to  men,  when  they  and  we  need 
the  stern,  hard,  humbling  truth !  "  It  is  no 
kindness  to  a  drowning  man  to  say  that  he  can 
swim."  Christ  said  :  "  He  that  believe th  and 
is  baptized,  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned."  Christians  can  do  no  bet- 
ter than  take  up  and  repeat  the  words,  often  and 
loud,  till  the  echo  rings  again ;  and  in  earnest, 
assured  that  they  are  true. 

In  whatever  form  the  Adversary  comes,  he 


292  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT, 

must  be  met  and  vanquished ;  —  "  Whom  resist." 
Christ  is  stronger  than  Satan,  and  He  is  with 
us.  Satan  "  will  flee."  His  efforts  to  hinder 
and  mar  cannot  be  successful,  if  the  soul  stand 
firm.  Only  those  who  flinch  get  hurt.  The 
truest  prudence  is  to  fight. 

Let  no  man  fear  to  work  for  Christ.  God 
calls.  There  is  a  lion  in  the  way,  but  he  is 
harmless.  There  is  the  appearance  of  darkness 
ahead;  but,  approaching  it,  it  vanishes  befoxe 
the  Light. 


III. 

MOTIVES. 

"I  beseech  you,  therefore,  brethreu,  by  the  mercies  of 
God."— Rom.  xii.  1. 

"^ILLitpay?" 

This  is  the  shape  the  American  ques- 
tion is  wont  to  take.     Let  us  see. 

1.  It  is  Grod  who  calls  to  this  service.  Is  not 
God  a  good  paymaster?  Can  the  King  act 
meanly?  Royalty  is  accustomed  to  be  lavish: 
God  is  the  King  of  kings.  His  gifts,  so  far  as 
shown,  are  unstinted  to  a  marvel.  It  is  His 
glory  to  give  on  a  magnificent  scale.  He  will 
be  peerless  in  His  largess.  How  petty  the  un- 
belief that  doubts  Him ! 

2.  This  service  is  free.  No  one  is  compelled 
to  it.  Withholding  it  does  not  forfeit  heaven  : 
"The  gifts  and  calling  of  God  are  without  re- 
pentance." "  Grace  hath  no  conditions."  The 
soul  may  serve,  or  may  refuse  to  serve.  God 
repudiates  the  service  of  restraint,  of  hate,  fear, 


294  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

or  barter.  He  will  have  nothing  that  is  not 
purely  voluntary,  the  service  of  love.  There 
is  no  compulsion. 

3.  This  is  a  service  of  peculiar  and  matchless 
honor.  It  is  co-operation  with  Christ,  the  King : 
"  We  are  co-workers  together  with  God."  An- 
gels are  withheld  from  it,  that  it  may  be  given 
to  us.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  restricted  —  as  to 
His  direct  operations  —  to  the  feeble-minded 
and  the  dying  children,  in  order  that  human 
agency  may  have  the  full  field.  In  this  field  we 
have  no  rivals.  To  preach  the  gospel,  to  ran- 
som the  lost,  to  help  the  needy,  to  comfort  the 
afflicted,  and  even  to  hasten  the  coming  of  the 
King,  make  up  a  work  whose  instrumentalities 
are  committed  solely  to  the  hands  of  Christians. 
Ours  is  the  opportunity ;  and  each  has  his  part. 

The  work  is  service,  the  most  noble  of  all 
forms  of  labor,  consecrated  by  the  Master  and 
cast  in  the  mould  of  God's  peculiar  method. 

It  is  a  devotion  to  the  interests  of  souls,  and 
to  the  honor  of  the  King  of  kings.  He  who 
engages  in  it,  has  a  vastly  greater  dignity  than 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  295 

belongs  to  tlie  highest  official  of  any  human 
government.  The  charge  of  souls  is  more  hon- 
orable than  the  custody  of  millions  of  money. 
The  saving  one  of  these  souls  from  death,  is 
greater  usefulness  than  can  be  attained  by  the 
wisest  statesmanship  or  the  broadest  philan- 
thropy. 

How  despicable  and  how  trifling,  in  the  com- 
parison, seems  the  life  that  is  given  to  the  petty 
strifes,  the  vanishing  attainments,  the  useless 
and  even  hurtful  achievements,  at  which  most 
men  aim ! 

What  other  work  has  fruits  which  pass  the 
limit  of  the  grave  ?  No  statesman,  as  such  ;  no 
warrior,  poet,  artist,  historian,  scientist,  or  even 
philanthropist,  as  such,  —  can  win  a  fame  which 
shall  reach  to  other  worlds  and  to  the  ages  of 
eternity ;  yet  the  humblest  Christian  has  this 
boundless  reach. 

This  service  is  in  the  employment  of  the  Lord 
of  lords.  It  calls  into  action  the  purest,  no- 
blest emotions  of  the  soul,  and  only  those.  It 
puts  in  our  hands,  or  gives  us  the  co-operation 


296  THE  CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

of,  all  the  machinery  of  time  and  all  the  forces 
of  eternity.  Its  barter  is  in  the  ransom  of  im- 
mortal souls,  its  very  currency  is  more  precious 
than  gold,  and  its  rewards  are  kingdoms. 

This  is  the  work  of  heroes :  each  worker  is  a 
hero.  It  is  the  work  of  Paul ;  of  Huss  and 
Wickliffe ;  of  Luther,  Calvin,  and  Knox ;  of 
Whitfield  and  the  Wesleys ;  of  John  Howard  ; 
and  of  all  the  most  heroic,  the  most  honored 
souls  whose  names  are  given  us.  It  is  the  work 
which  ennobled  the  women  of  the  Bible, 
Miriam  and  Esther,  Dorcas  and  Priscilla,  and 
scores  of  others  whose  achievements  have  pro- 
voked a  hallowed  emulation  among  the  Chris- 
tian women  of  modern  times. 

This  is  labor  of  the  most  exalted  kind :  it  is 
the  nearest  approach  to  the  work  of  the  Son  of 
God  that  opens  its  gates  to  men.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  call  it  an  employment  of  "peculiar 
and  matchless  honor ; "  and  by  this  charm, 
which  Love  has  lent  it,  it  is  legitimately  sought 
to  entice  men  to  its  activities. 

4.   The  heart  of  the  Christian  demands  for  him 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  297 

a  share  in  this  work :  "  The  love  of  Christ  con- 
straineth  us." 

A  traveller  was  once  observed  to  have  the 
service  of  an  attendant  whose  strict  fidelity  and 
warmth  of  devotion  were  manifest.  A  stranger 
asked :  — 

"  Why  do  you  serve  him?  you  are  free." 

"  He  redeemed  me  !  ITe  redeemed  me !  I 
want  to  serve  him ;  I  cannot  help  serving  him," 
was  the  reply,  startling  in  its  emphasis  and 
eagerness. 

Clmst  redeemed  the  soul.  The  "carnal 
mind  "  may  object  to  serving  Him,  does  object ; 
but  the  Christian's  self  loves  the  Redeemer  with 
a  pure,  unselfish,  and  unquenchable  devotion. 
If  the  cries  of  the  soul  be  not  smothered  in  sin, 
or  drowned  by  the  tumult  of  earthly  care,  they 
will  command  attention  and  obedience.  Love 
overrides  all  difficulties,  overleaps  all  barriers, 
overcomes  all  distance.  Love  longs  to  serve  its 
Object,  and  pines  if  it  be  denied.  Jesus  needed 
to  ask  Simon  Peter,  before  restoring  him  to  the 
apostolate,  the  single  question,  "  Lovest  thou 
13* 


298  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

me  ? "     But  the   one   question   was  thrice  re- 
peated. 

Work  for  Christ  is  the  spontaneous  impulse 
of  the  untrammelled  Christian. 

5.  There  is  peculiar  and  unequalled  present 
pleasure  in  this  work.  It  promotes  and  compels 
communion  with  God,  lifting  the  soul  into  the 
pure  atmosphere  of  heaven.  It  brings  into 
pleasing  exercise  the  Christian  virtues.  It 
bestows  the  joy  of  pleasing  others,  of  helping 
men  ;  the  joy,  passing  expression,  of  seeing  men 
saved,  through  one's  own  exertions ;  and  the 
joy  unspeakable,  of  pleasing  Christ. 

6.  There  is  a  reward.  Christ  comes  again ! 
He  will  call  His  disciples  together  unto  Him- 
self.    Then :  — 

"  Every  man's  work  shall  be  made  manifest ;  for  the 
day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be  revealed  by 
fire,  and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work,  of  what 
sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  abide,  ...  he  shall  re- 
ceive a  reward.  If  any  man's  work  shall  be  burned, 
he  shall  suffer  loss ;  but  he  himself  shall  be  saved,  yet 
so  as  by  fire." 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT,  299 

Salvation  is  a  gift :  works  are  of  no  avail  for 
the  purchase;  Christ's  work  was  sufficient. 
Having  received  the  gift,  all  we  do  for  Him  is 
for  His  glory  and  oiu-  profit.  If,  now,  after  ac- 
cepting the  "  foundation  .  .  .  that  is  laid,  which 
is  Jesus  Christ,"  the  soul  fail  to  "  work ; "  or,  if 
the  work  prove  to  be  but  ''  wood,  hay,  stubble," 
and  is  "burned,"  —  he  shall  be  saved,  indeed, 
but  "he  shall  suffer  loss."  If  the  work  endure 
the  test,  if  it  prove  to  be  "gold,  silver,  precious 
stones,"  the  worker  "  shall  receive  a  reward." 

When  the  Master  shall  return  to  institute 
this  inquiry,  no  man  can  tell.  The  Scriptures 
say:  — 

"  But  of  that  day,  and  hour,  knoweth  no  man." 

"  Watch,  therefore,  for  ye  know  not  what  hour  your 

Lord  doth  come." 

"  Therefore  be  ye  also  ready ;  for  in  such  an  hour 

as  ye  think  not  the  Son  of  man  cometh." 

The  command  is :  "Occupy  till  I  come." 
Chiistians  are  wont  to  miss  the  realization  of 
these  statements   and  so   lose   their   force,  by 
saying,  as  did  some  of  old,  "  My  Lord  delayeth 


300  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

His  coming ; "  and  "  Where  is  the  promise  of 
His  coming  ?  for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep  all 
things  continue  as  they  were  from  the  beginning 
of  the  creation." 

The  plea  seems  natural,  if  not  necessary ;  since 
already  the  delay  has  extended  over  eighteen 
hundred  years.  Nevertheless,  the  inspired  re- 
proof immediately  follows :  — 

"  But,  beloved,  be  not  ignorant  of  this  one  thing, 
that  one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years, 
and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day.  The  Lord  is  not 
slack  concerning  His  promise.  .  .  .  But  the  day  of 
the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night.  .  .  . 
Wherefore,  beloved,  seeing  that  ye  look  for  such  things^ 
be  diligent,  that  ye  may  he  found  of  Him  in  peace, 
without  spot,  and  blameless." 

7.  TJie  necessities  of  men  clamor  for  Christian 
ivorlc.  Humanity  needs  nothing  so  much  as  the 
Gospel.  Chief  among  man's  woes  are  these, 
which  only  the  gospel  of  Christ  can  heal: 
his  helplessness  in  affliction ;  his  gloom  under 
disappointment ;  his  dread  of  death ;  his  barren- 
ness and  sinfulness  of  heart ;  his  soul-cry  for  the 
unknown  God ;  his  hopeless  yearning  for  a  better 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  301 

life ;  his  despair  of  deliverance  from  lust,  from 
degradation,  from  a  guilty  conscience  ;  his  con- 
demnation to  an  eternal  hell ;  and  his  utter  and 
appalling  need  of  an  opened  heaven. 

This  multitude  of  sorrows  is  to-day  pressing 
down  on  the  hearts  of  humanity :  wringing  from 
them  groans  and  tears  ;  driving  many  to  strong 
drink,  some  to  frenzy,  some*  to  crime,  some  to 
despair,  and  some  to  the  suicide's  grave.  These 
real,  wide-spread,  and  terrific  woes  of  men 
demand  from  Christians  the  extension  of  the 
help  and  healing  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God. 

8.  One  last  appeal  comes,  for  the  honor  of  the 
Cross,  The  honor  of  the  Redeemer  is  at  stake, 
and  it  suffers  many  a  stain  because  of  the  indo- 
lence and  the  indifference  of  His  sworn  adher- 
ents.    Said  an  infidel  to  a  Christian  friend :  — 

"  You  do  not  believe  these  things  yourself.'* 

"  I  certainly  do !  " 

"  You  do  not,  and  I  can  prove  it.  If  I  be- 
lieved, as  you  say  you  do,  that  one  of  my  dear- 
est friends  was  doomed  to  hell,  liable  to  sink 


302  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

into  it  any  moment,  and  in  reach  of  a  full  salva- 
tion wliicli  might  be  had  for  the  taking,  do  you 
suppose  I  would  let  him  alone  for  weeks  at  a 
time  ?  I  would  give  him  no  peace,  day  nor 
night,  till  he  should  take  the  gift.  I  would  din 
it  in  his  ears  perpetually.  I  would  follow  him 
about.  I  would  go  out  upon  the  street  when- 
ever I  should  see  him  passing,  take  hold  of  him, 
stop  him,  and  compel  him  to  listen :  I  could  not 
rest  until  he  should  be  safe." 

Can  the  inactive  Christian  make  any  satisfac- 
tory reply?  The  Cross  is  contemned  because 
of  the  sloth,  the  indifference,  of  those  who  owe 
to  it  their  eternal  all,  and  who  are  sworn  to 
defend  its  honor  and  push  its  claims.  There  is 
no  escape  from  the  fearful  responsibility  and  the 
terrific  blame. 

Further,  the  honor  of  the  "  Name  above  every 
name  "  is  irrevocably  bound  up  with  the  success 
of  this  work.  The  ransomed  are  to  be  called 
out  from  among  men  and  gathered  into  the 
kingdom.  The  word  is  to  be  preached  for  a 
witness  to  all  nations.     The  Gospel  is  to  carry 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  303 

its  Light  to  every  corner  of  the  earth,  before 
the  eyes  of  every  man,  and  into  the  hearts  of  all 
the  chosen.  The  Redeemer's  word  is  pledged. 
The  work  must  be  done,  — or  the  Cross  proves  a 
failure  and  a  farce !  And  on  Christians  only 
rests  the  responsibility  of  doing  it,  Christ,  hav- 
ing bought  them  with  His  blood  and  bound 
them  to  Himself  by  the  strongest  and  most  en- 
dearing ties,  has  in  a  manner  placed  Himself  in 
their  hands,  committed  His  honor  to  their  keep- 
ing. He  has  no  other  agency  to  employ.  The 
Light  must  shine :  it  is  appointed  that  it  shall 
sliine  through  the  lives  and  the  labors  of  the 
Children  of  Light. 

"  Rise  !  for  the  day  is  passing, 
And  you  lie  dreaming  on  ! 
Tlie  others  have  buckled  their  armor. 
And  forth  to  the  fight  have  gone  ; 
A  place  in  the  ranks  awaits  you ; 
Each  man  has  some  part  to  play  ; 
The  past  and  the  future  are  looking 
In  the  face  of  the  stern  to-day ! " 


IV. 

WHAT  TO  DO. 

"  Whatsoever  thy  handjindeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might."  — 
Ecc.  ix.  10. 

"IT /HEN  Paul,  on  his  conversion,  asked  what 
the  Lord  would  have  him  do,  he  was 
commanded :  "  Arise,  and  go  into  the  city,  and 
it  shall  be  told  thee  what  thou  must  do."  The 
answer  is  significant. 

1.  The  thread  of  life  is  to  he  taken  up  where  it 
has  been  laid  down.  This  is  the  beginning  of 
Christian  conduct. 

2.  Direction  must  he  sought  through  the  ordi- 
nary and  appointed  agencies.  This  is  the  way 
to  find  one's  appointed  work. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  by  the  Christian 
who  seeks  work,  is  simply  to  go  on  in  his  pres- 
ent course  of  life,  adding  to  it  a  new  consecra- 
tion. It  is  not  necessary  or  natural,  and  it  is 
seldom  duty,  to  break  off  abruptly  from  former 
plans  and  habits,  and   to  change    the   general 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  305 

conditions  of  the  life.  Direction  must  first  be 
sought  from  the  Light,  as  Paul  was  sent  to  seek 
it  in  Damascus,  —  from  Ananias,  as  Gcd's 
mouth-piece.  This  search  requires  time.  Until 
it  shall  have  been  made,  and  until  its  fruit  be 
an  unmistakable  call  to  sometliing  of  the  kind, 
no  sweeping  change  should  be  permitted.  At 
least  the  framework  of  present  endeavor,  must 
be  supplied  by  past  habit.  The  germ  feeds  on 
the  decaying  matter  of  the  seed :  the  new  life 
feeds  on  the  dead  habit  of  the  old.  Retain  it ; 
use  it ;  and,  from  the  outset,  animate  it  by  a 
new  spirit  of  service. 

The  contrary  course  is  not  uncommon :  but 
it  is  not  Scriptural ;  and  it  is  hurtful.  It  fur- 
nishes the  clew  to  many  a  woful  blunder  and 
wretched  failure.  The  new-fledged  devotion 
seeks  expression:  it  goes  self-guided,  or  it  is 
pushed  forward  by  indiscreet  friends.  Instantly 
an  untried  life  begins.  Even  the  framework  is 
new ;  habits  are  changed ;  study,  business,  or 
domestic  routine,  is  rudely  sacrificed.  The  soul 
is  in  strange  waters.     There  seems  some  "  free- 


306  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

dom  "  at  first.  Soon  comes  restriction ;  then  a 
misstep  ;  tlien  —  a  fall ! 

Almost  equally  miscliievous  is  the  custom  of 
permitting  the  first  flush  of  desire  to  pass  with- 
out making  the  inquiry  for  work,  and  finding 
the  answer  accorded.  The  soul  readily  relapses 
into  indolence.  The  eyes  new-opened  must 
quickly  discover  sometliing  to  enchain  and 
compel  attention,  or  they  will  close  again :  they 
must  find  some  field  of  work,  as  well  as  the 
Object  of  faith. 

The  opportunity  that  lies  nearest,  comes  first. 
There  is  opportunity  for  a  quiet,  modest  word 
to  a  friend ;  for  a  new  element  in  correspond- 
ence ;  for  a  word  of  sympathy  here,  or  an  act 
of  kindness  there.  Little  things,  easily  done; 
in  places  convenient  to  the  daily  walk,  easily 
found ;  with  effort  easily  put  forth,  even  by 
the  new-given,  infant  strength ;  in  directions 
easily  discerned  even  by  the  untrained  eye, 
where  there  will  be  little  danger  of  hurtful 
mistake. 

There  is  much  to  be  done  which  all  may  do. 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  307 

The  world  would  be  brighter  and  better ;  tears 
would  be  fewer  ;  many  a  home  would  be  sweetly 
robbed  of  its  distress ;  and  many  a  soul  would 
be  brought  to  the  Master's  feet, — if  the  little 
effort  possible,  here  or  there,  were  always  freely 
made.  These  are  the  deeds  especially  recom- 
mended by  our  Saviour ;  and  each  of  them  is 
coupled  with  a  specific  promise  of  reward  :  — 

"  I  was  a  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat ;  I  was 
thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink  ;  I  was  a  stranger,  and 
ye  took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me ;  I  was  sick, 
and  ye  visited  me ;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto 
me.  .  .  .  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the 
least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 

"  And  whosoever  shall  give  to  drink  unto  one  of 
these  little  ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  only,  in  the  name 
of  a  disciple,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  he  shall  in  no  wise 
lose  his  reward." 

The  loudest  call  for  work  to-day,  is  upon 
those  whose  spheres  are  circumscribed,  whose 
opportunities  seem  few,  whose  abilities  are  lim- 
ited, whose  means  are  scant,  whose  speech  per- 
haps is  slow,  and  whose  place  is  humble.  It 
was  only  the  servant  who  had  but  one  talent, 


308  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

who  so  shamefully  neglected  his  opportunities. 
So  likewise,  very  often,  it  is  they  who  can  do 
but  little  —  a  trifle  here  or  there  for  Jesus  — 
who  are  guilty  of  the  greatest  failure.  These 
persons  cannot  be  selected  from  the  mass,  for 
rebuke,  as  readily  as  tliose  whose  position  makes 
them  more  prominent.  But  it  scarcely  admits 
of  a  doubt,  when  we  consider  their  number  and 
their  close  contact  with  those  who  are  in  great- 
est need,  that  the  possibilities  of  service  from 
people  of  this  class,  as  a  whole,  are  greater  than 
those  of  all  other  classes ;  and  that  more  hin- 
derance  and  harm  result  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
from  their  neglect,  than  from  all  other  causes 
combined ! 

In  general,  the  first  call  to  work  for  the  Mas- 
ter regards  the  home,  the  counting-room,  the 
office,  the  work-shop,  the  neighborhood,  the 
circle  of  acquaintance.  It  regards  not  extraor- 
dinary, but  the  most  ordinary,  kinds  of  work, 
the  work  that  lies  nearest  the  common  conduct, 
—  the  word,  the  act  of  kindness,  the  gift  of 
charity,  the  helping  hand,  the  visit  to  the  sick, 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  309 

the  call  in  Christ's  name  on  a  godless  neighbor 
or  companion.  And  "He  that  is  faithful  in 
that  wliich  is  least,  is  faithful  also  in  much." 

Further,  however ;  ther2  is  need  of  a  larger 
co-operation  with  those  already  at  work.,  in  the 
agencies  already  in  operation.  The  work  of  the 
Sunday  school  is  calling  for  help,  often  in  vain, 
upon  those  whose  interests  and  opportunities 
lie  very  near  it.  Their  presence  is  needed ; 
their  endeavor  to  bring  others ;  their  thought ; 
their  prevision  and  their  provision ;  their  aid  to 
the  spirituality  of  tone,  and  to  the  thoroughness 
of  work,  which  our  Sunday  schools  often  lack  ; 
and  their  exertions  to  extend  the  influence  of 
this  important  agency  of  the  church.  This 
work  cannot  be  done  by  proxy,  as  so  many  seem 
to  suppose. 

The  endeavor  to  induce  men  to  attend  divine 
service  is  much  needed  ;  to  make  them  "  feel  at 
home "  when  there,  so  that  they  will  come 
again;  to  attach  men  to  the  church  by  legiti- 
mate means,  which  always  bind  most  strongly; 
to  make  the  church  a  channel  of  grace  to  men 


310  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

whom  it  does  not  reach,  and  whom  it  should 
reach. 

Every  cause  of  benevolence,  every  agency*  of 
evangelism,  education,  and  charity,  needs  help. 
Our  countless  societies,  seminaries,  colleges, 
schools  of  theology,  are  continually  struggling 
for  life  ;  or,  at  best,  for  a  more  vigorous  life. 
Who  will  help  ?  There  are  almost  innumerable 
agencies  already  in  operation,  all  of  them  deriv- 
ing their  existence  and  authority  in  some  way 
from  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  field  for 
help  is  limitless.  Willing  hands,  ready  speech, 
scheming  brains,  and  open  purses,  are  in  demand. 
When  shall  they  be  laid  on  the  Redeemer's 
altar? 

Beyond  all  this,  there  are  needed  new  agencies  of 
organized  effort ;  and  new  channels  for  individ- 
ual endeavor  and  beneficence  are  open  —  to  eyes 
that  are  ready  to  discern  them.  The  number 
passes  reckoning ;  the  variety  forbids  delinea- 
tion. 

There  is  room  for  men  (and  women !)  of  one 
idea.     The  temperance  cause  needs  them.     The 


WORKING  IN  THE  LIGHT.  oil 

prisoners  need  them.  The  ignorant  and  the 
unevangelized  need  them.  New  lines  of  labor. 
New  channels  of  giving.  New  subjects  for 
thought,  plan,  and  prayer.     New  objects  of  life  ! 

Reforms  are  to  be  instituted,  and  others 
abetted.  The  Gospel  is  to  be  preached,  printed, 
circulated,  recommended.  The  poor  are  to  be 
fed.  The  fallen  are  to  be  lifted  up.  The  weak 
are  to  be  strengthened. 

The  work  is  large.  There  is  plenty  of  room 
for  various  tastes  and  capabilities.  The  field  is 
the  world.  The  command  of  the  Master  is, 
"  Go ! "  Go  to  help,  to  heal,  to  save,  among 
thirteen  hundred  millions  of  men,  anywhere ! 
The  vast  majority  of  this  teeming  multitude  are 
ignorant,  vicious,  and  lost  !  and  all  of  them 
are  suffering.  The  harvest  is  plenteous,  —  but 
the  laborers  are  few !  The  prayer  ascends  from 
many  an  aching  heart,  in  distant  echo  of  the 
Master's  cry,  "  Send  forth  more  laboeees  into 
the  harvest."  Time  presses.  Needs  crowd. 
Christ  commands,  "Go,  work."  "Whatsoever 
thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might." 


312  THE   CHILDREN  OF  LIGHT. 

Let  the  Children  of  Light  make  haste  to  put 
on  the  armor  of  Light. 

"  Go,  labor  on ;  spend  and  be  spent, 
Thy  joy  to  do  the  Master's  will ; 
It  is  the  way  the  Master  went : 

Should  not  the  servant  tread  it  still  ? 

"  Go,  labor  on  !    'Tis  not  for  naught ; 
Thine  earthly  loss  is  heavenly  gain ; 
Men  heed  thee,  love  thee,  praise  thee  not : 
The  Master  praises ;  —  what  are  men  ? 

"  Go,  labor  on  !   Enough,  while  here, 
If  He  shall  praise  thee ;  if  He  deign 
Thy  willing  heart  to  mark  and  cheer  : 
No  toil  for  Him  shall  be  in  vain. 

"  Toil  on  !  and  in  thy  work  rejoice  ; 

For  toil,  comes  rest ;  for  exile,  home. 
Soon  shalt  thou  hear  the  Bridegroom's  voice, 
The  midnight  peal :   '  Behold,  I  come  ! ' " 


Cambridge  :  Press  of  Jolm  Wilson  &  Son. 


Messrs.  Roberts  Brothers*  Publications, 

THE  CHRISTIAN  IN  THE  WORLD.  By  Rev. 
D.  W.  Faunce.  i6mo.  Price  $1.50.  Contents:  The 
Statement;  The  Method;  Principles;  The  Christian  in 
Prayer ;  The  Christian  in  his  Recreations ;  The  Christian 
in  his  Business. 

From  the  Boston  Cultivator, 
It  will  be  remembered  that  by  the  will  of  the  late  Hon.  Richard  Fletcher 
a  fund  was  bequeathed  to  Dartmouth  College,  from  the  proceeds  of  which  should 
be  offered  biennially  a  prize  of  $500  for  the  best  essay  on  the  importance  of  holy 
living  on  the  part  of  Christian  professors,  and  to  the  author  of  this  admirably 
written  work  has  the  prize  been  awarded.  This  earnest,  practical  appeal  for  a 
higher  standard  of  Christian  living  comes  fresh  from  the  heart,  and  we  think 
must  reach  the  heart  and  bring  forth  fruit  in  the  lives  of  those  who  read  it.  In  its 
wide  application  it  comes  to  the  Christian  in  his  business  and  social  relations, 
bis  daily  duties  and  recreations,  telling  him  how  in  all  these  varied  relations  he 
can  be  a  "  Christian  in  the  World,"  and  a  blessing  to  his  race. 

From  the  Christian  Era. 
But  the  characteristic  of  the  work,  one  which  will  attract  to  it  a  class  of 
intelligent,  spiritual-minded  Christians,  the  unorganized  fraternity  of  the  inner  and 
the  outer  life,  is  its  lofty,  uncompromising,  exhilarating  idealism.  It  exhibits  the 
perfect  man  in  Christ,  and  to  that  picture  it  points  with  the  calm  earnestness  of 
conviction,  though  with  the  hinnility  and  sympathy  begotten  by  the  consciousness 
of  sin  and  the  remembrance  of  divers  stumblings  in  the  way  of  life. 

From  the  Syracuse  Journal. 
Mr.  Faunce  is  a  clear  and  forcible  writer,  whose  name  is  familiar  to  readers 
of  the  Baptist  press,  and  in  this  essay  he  has  most  powerfully  and  practically 
developed  his  subject.  He  first  impresses  the  practicability  and  positiveness 
of  Christian  duty,  demanded  alike  from  Christians  and  busy  men  in  the  world. 
The  first  five  chapters  are  devoted  to  the  Statement,  Method,  and  Principles 
involved,  devoting  the  remaining  chapters  to  the  duty  of  the  Christian  in  Prayer, 
in  his  Recreations,  and  finally  in  his  Business.  The  full,  rich,  practical  suggestions 
contained  in  tliis  essay,  the  earnest  spirit  which  inspired  it,  and  withal  its  pleasant^ 
flowing  style,  render  it  one  of  the  most  desirable  of  books  on  kindred  topics,  and 
we  bespeak  for  it  at  least  a  place  in  every  Christian  library. 


Sold  everywhere  by  all  Bookselkrs.     Mailed^  postpaid^  by 
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Messrs.  Roberts  Brothers^  Publications. 


Reason,  Faith,  and  Duty. 
^ermongi 

PREACHED  CHIEFLY  IN  THE  COLLEGE  CHAPEL. 

By  JAMES  WALKER,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

LATE   PRESIDENT  OF   HARVARD   COLLEGE 

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One  handsome  square  i2mo  volume.     Price  $2.00.     Sold 
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